Holding on to You
by notcarlsjr
Summary: Once again, Leah Kane finds herself caught in the crosshairs of a supernatural war. New threats bring new faces to Beacon Hills, some who are friends and some who are foes. As the fight between the supernatural and the hunters continues, Leah begins a fight of her own–with her mental stability.
1. Thought It Was All Good

Slowing down, the red Mustang came to a complete stop as the light changed from yellow to red. A soft wind blew through Stella Williams's blonde hair as she looked around the empty road. Glancing down, she reached for the envelope on her passenger seat. She already knew what was inside—she opened it almost immediately after it slid under her apartment door a few days before she was supposed to leave for Beacon Hills. The note enclosed was read and re-read, marks on the paper from where she held it tightly. She practically had it memorized by now.

Thumbing past the note, Stella pulled out the old, grainy polaroid picture of her toddler self with two other children—a girl her age and a boy who was a couple years older. The moment felt fuzzy in her mind, but she knew it was herself. There were plenty of other baby pictures to back that up. But she didn't know who sent the note and the picture. The name was unfamiliar and there was no full return address, just Stella's name carefully printed out on the envelope along with an indication that the sender was from Beacon Hills. Even though Stella was already headed to Beacon Hills, the note had become another reason why she came back—she needed to know who sent it.

Suddenly, her phone rang, pulling her from her thoughts. She pushed the picture back into the envelope, putting it into the glove compartment as she reached for her phone. Smiling slightly to herself at the name on the screen, she answered the call as the light turned green,

"What's up, bro?" She asked as she proceeded with caution through the green light.

" _Just wondering where my lovely sister is, considering you said you would be here yesterday."_ Her older brother's voice came over the line.

"Drew, I hate to tell you this, but I think you're turning into Mom." She clenched her teeth as she steered the Mustang with one hand.

" _Ha ha very funny."_ Drew let out a dry laugh. " _Seriously, Stella."_

"I just crossed the town limits. Just, you know, trying to have a little bit more freedom," Stella continued, " _before I give it all up to take care of a newborn."_

"You're the one who volunteered." Drew reminded his sister as he walked through the hospital, "There's a key under the turtle on the front porch."

 _"Got it."_ Stella clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, " _I will be there in about a half an hour. Is anyone home?"_

"The kids are gonna leave soon so they might beat you there." Drew nodded as he pressed the button for the elevator.

" _Alright, sounds good."_ Stella hummed in approval, " _I'll see you later, Drew."_

"Bye, Stella." Drew ended his call with his younger sister as the elevator dinged. Shoving his phone into his jacket pocket, Drew stepped on, hitting the button for Tara's floor. The doors went to close, only to have a hand come out and stop them. Drew looked over to see Scott stepping onto the elevator,

"Hey, Scott." Drew gave him a warm smile, "Where ya headed?"

"Uh, just looking for Leah." Scott said, a bit breathless. Drew noticed that he looked a little shaken, his hands curling into fists in his pocket.

"Well, she's upstairs with Tara." Drew nodded slowly, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, yup, yes sir." Scott nodded, blowing a breath, "Just winded from trying to catch the elevator." Drew made a face, but accepted Scott's lie as the elevator went up to the maternity ward.

Once the elevator doors opened, Scott let Drew step out first, following him down the hall. He saw Leah step out of her mom's room, tapping at her phone. When she looked up, she gave her dad a warm smile as he went over to give her a side hug and a kiss on the top of her head before walking into Tara's room. Leah noticed Scott and put her phone into the back pocket of her jeans as he walked up to her.

"Hey, sorry, I just saw your text." Leah gave him a small smile as she met him in the middle of the hall, "Nice haircut." She reached up to floof his hair with her fingers for a moment. Scott pulled back, rolling his eyes and momentarily forgetting what had just happened.

"Thanks." Scott gave her a lopsided smile as Leah dropped her hand from his head. She walked over to the row of chairs by the elevators.

"So your text." Leah's brow furrowed as she folded herself into the chair, Scott flopping down in the chair next to her. "What happened?" She pulled her knee to her chest.

"So, Allison and I were out in that abandoned park off of Second Street this afternoon."

"Right." Leah nodded, resting her chin on her knee.

"And we were…you know…" Scott motioned with his hand.

"Making out." Leah finished for him, making a face. Scott gave her an embarrassed smile and looked down at his hands.

"And then," His eyebrows raised, "her _dad_ came out of nowhere, pulled me out of the car, pushed me up against the hood and pointed a loaded gun _at my face_." Scott quickly explained. Leah felt her eyebrows shoot up as she stared at him.

"Oh my God." Leah managed out, "But I thought everything was good." She sputtered out, lifting her head from her knee.

"Apparently not!" Scott cried out, raising his shoulders, "We're not allowed to see each other anymore." Scott slumped down in the chair.

"Oh, _please_." Leah scoffed, rolling her eyes, "Like a threat from Mr. Argent is going to keep you two away from each other."

"Well, I sure don't want a bullet in my head!" Scott hissed out, pushing up in his seat and shoving a finger against his forehead.

"Pull it out, you'll be fine." Leah waved her hand in the air. Scott stared at her, "Werewolf healing, remember?" Leah made her eyes wide and moved around a little bit, trying to joke around to make her best friend feel a bit better. Scott blew out a breath and shook his head, slumping down again.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

"Sneak around." Leah stated the obvious. Scott glanced at her, "Have you seen _any_ movies? Whenever two kids can't be together, they sneak out or they get together when the parents aren't home."

"Do you think she'd be willing to do it?"

"I specifically remember her saying that she loves you." Leah screwed her face up as she nodded, "I think yes." She gave him a smile and he started to play with the strings on his hoodie. "Just go talk to her, or text her." Leah corrected herself.

"Can I use your phone?" Scott asked, "It'll seem less suspicious if you call her."

"Yeah for sure." Leah nodded, lifting her butt up so she could reach into her pocket and grab her phone. She handed it to him, "She might not answer though cause we…aren't on speaking terms." Leah finished, pursing her lips. Scott gave her a small smile and nodded, knowing what she was talking about. The two girls never got around to talking about what had happened during the night of the formal. Allison was still upset with Leah for lying to her while Leah was still upset about Allison siding with her psycho of an aunt.

"How are you?" Scott asked after he got to his feet, a crease in his forehead.

"I'm fine." Leah placed a hand to her chest, "I wasn't hurt as bad as Lydia or had a human pulled out of myself like Tara." Leah shook her head, "All I got was a scratch."

"I mean your…" He tapped his temple with Leah's phone. Leah took in a breath and let her hand drop, looking around herself, just in case Connor or her dad were out in the hall.

"Not any worse, but not any better." Leah settled on, shifting in her chair, "I mean, I don't know." She lifted her hand up and then dropped it, "I remember Friday night. The formal and the fire and Zoey being born and then after that…" Leah made an explosion motion with her hand, "Nothing." She screwed her mouth to the side, "I woke up at home. And now we're here." Scott looked worried as he stared at his best friend.

"So you haven't talked to Stiles." He stated. Leah felt her brow furrow as she sat up in her chair, letting her foot drop to the ground.

"No. Not since Friday at the Hale house." Leah shook her head. Scott's brow furrowed, which got Leah to continue, "Why did something happen?"

"No, well…" Scott tilted his head to the side, "He said he drove you home and you—"

"Oh my God, please tell me I didn't say something stupid." Leah cut Scott off, mouth opening slightly as she looked at him with wide eyes, "Scott, please tell me I didn't tell him about my," She swallowed, "You know… _crush_." She whispered. Scott rolled his lips in and then looked away from her, giving her an answer.

"Oh fuck me." Leah groaned out, placing a hand to her head as she slumped back against her seat, "Great." She lifted her hand up, pulling down the corners of her mouth, "Fantastic. What the hell do I do now?"

"I have no idea." Scott shrugged, making a face, "But he's down on Lydia's floor if you want to talk to him."

"Oh my God…" Leah trailed off, placing her hand to her temple.

"It'll be okay." Scott tried to look on the bright side, even if he was a little worried that Leah had forgotten Stiles entirely. When Stiles had frantically called him, explaining what had happened when he showed up at Leah's bedroom with her backpack, Scott felt a knot full of worry and anxiety begin to form in his stomach. Stiles told him that Leah had completely forgotten who Stiles was, forcing him to leave before he had a second to try and get her back. It seemed that her memory gaps were getting more and more serious.

But when talking to Leah in the hospital, she seemed fine and like herself, which worried Scott even more; as Leah just admitted, she couldn't even remember her memory loss. Scott figured it was because of Leah's multiple encounters with Peter had messed her memories up even more than they already were. Now they just needed to find a way to help her.

Before Leah could respond to Scott's positive message, the sound of a hospital door opening got their attention. Connor stepped out into the hall and gave the two teens a two finger wave as he walked over to them

"I'm gonna call Allison." Scott held up Leah's phone and walked away from her. He gave Connor a head nod as he walked past him, getting a smile from Connor. Connor looked over to his sister and gave her a raised eyebrow look,

"Typical teenage drama." Leah sighed out, slumping against her chair, "Classic werewolf and werewolf hunter story."

"I know it very well." Connor nodded, stepping over to sit next to Leah, "Like his haircut though. More adult." Leah nodded in agreement,

"Hey, have you heard from Derek?" She asked, suddenly changing the subject and looking at her brother.

"No." Connor shook his head, nose scrunching up a little as he glanced away from her.

"Not lying are you?" Leah asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I'm not lying, Leah." Connor answered her, laughing a little, "I haven't seen him or been able to get ahold of him." He met her raised eyebrow look and made his eyes a bit wider

"Okay, okay." Leah put her hands up, "I was just wondering." She paused for a moment, "I wanted to ask him some stuff."

"About what?" Connor asked, brow furrowing. Leah shrugged, trying to play it off,

"Just if he knew who the woman was in the memory Peter showed me."

"Well, if what you saw on Friday actually happened, then you know he wasn't there. You said he wasn't there." Connor clasped his hands together as he leaned forward a bit. Leah screwed her mouth to the side and nodded, "There hasn't been anymore memory gaps, have there?" Leah paused for a moment, debating on whether or not she wanted to lie to her brother,

"Uh, yeah." Leah settled on, "I mean, nothing major." She was quick to defend herself, "Just don't remember how I got home on Friday night." Connor nodded, studying his sister for a moment,

"I'll talk to Deaton." He gave her a small smile, "See what we can do to help." Leah raised her eyebrows at him and nodded as he pushed out of his chair, "Besides, the only thing on Derek's mind right now is building a pack." Connor admitted, looking down at his sister. Leah's brows furrowed,

"A pack?" She asked, getting a nod from Connor,

"An Alpha is stronger with a pack. Harder to take out. And since Peter ripped Kate's throat out…more Argents are going to be here, which means more hunters—"

"Which means we're in the danger zone." Leah finished for him.

"So Derek needs a pack." Connor repeated himself, eyes on her the entire time.

"So he's going to turn people."

"That's usually how it goes." Connor nodded. "Teenagers probably." Connor raised his eyebrows quickly, "They're more accepting of the bite."

"Well, besides Lydia." Leah pointed out. Connor made a face and nodded.

"Anyway, I'm gonna head home," He looked down at his sister, "Aunt Stella is on her way and Dad wants me to meet her there."

"So she doesn't steal anything?" Leah raised her eyebrows as she smiled slightly at the mention of her Aunt Stella. She was all too aware of her aunt's track record, even if the last time she had seen the woman was when she was in elementary school. Connor made a face and shrugged,

"Or have a rager."

"She's basically a teenager trapped in an adult woman's body." Leah sighed out, looking to the side. Connor laughed lightly and nodded, agreeing with his sister. Leah smiled to herself, glancing down the hall to see Scott come out of the bathroom, glancing down the hall and spotting Leah where he had left her.

Quickly walking to her, Scott got back to Leah and Connor, holding out her phone to her. Leah raised her eyebrows and carefully took it as Scott took in a breath,

"Her parents aren't home tonight." He admitted, giving them a small smile, "So I'm gonna go over there for a bit."

"Nice." Leah raised her hand up to meet Scott's in a high five. Scott looked relieved, laughing a bit as Leah looked to Connor,

"Did you talk to Stiles?" Scott asked, changing the subject.

"Why do you have to talk to Stiles?" Connor asked before Leah could respond to Scott's question.

"I don't." Leah made a face and shrugged. Scott gave her an unamused look that Connor didn't catch,

"Uh, okay…" He trailed off, "Are you gonna come home with me?"

"I can take her on my bike." Scott offered, raising his eyebrows up, "We gotta check on Lydia." Scott glanced to Leah, giving her a knowing look. Leah slumped down in her chair, dropping her chin to her chest; she knew Scott had some sort of ulterior motive.

"Okay, yeah, keep me updated." Connor patted Scott's shoulder. He gave his sister a small wave before walking down to the elevators.

"You can't make me talk to Stiles." Leah seriously said, looking at Scott.

"I'm not." Scott raised his eyebrows, "I'm just suggesting that you do." He moved his head around as Leah eyed him.

"…Kay." Leah pushed out of the chair, "Let's go check on Lydia then."

The pair got onto the elevator and Scott pressed the button for Lydia's floor. It had been two days since she was attacked by Peter and the bite still hadn't healed. She had woken up and moved to the recovery floor, not remembering anything that had happened after she had walked out onto the lacrosse field.

Stiles had been keeping a watchful eye on Lydia during her time in the hospital so when the elevator doors opened, he was the first thing that Leah saw, sitting in one of the chairs, a balloon bobbing above his head. He was tapping at his phone as Scott walked out of the elevator. Leah acted on instinct, quickly pressing the button to close the elevator doors so she didn't have to talk to him. As the doors shut, Leah saw Scott glance over his shoulder a second too late, then Stiles looking over and making eye contact with her for a split second before the doors closed.

Once the doors shut, Leah stepped back against the wall of the elevator, letting out a slow breath and trying to calm her stomach worms. She shoved a hand through her hair, letting her eyes close as she groaned. Her head tilted back, hitting the wall—she couldn't face Stiles knowing that she had probably seriously embarrassed herself. Plus, if she had admitted her crush and Stiles did feel the same, then why hadn't he tried to talk to her over the weekend. Everything was lining up to show that it didn't pan out the way Leah thought it would. She cursed herself for even thinking of admitting to Stiles that she had a crush on him; it obviously went wrong.

The elevator doors opened and Leah stepped out onto the main floor. She wrapped her arms over herself and walked out of the hospital, letting out a slow breath and making a cloud in the cold air. Looking around herself, Leah was startled by the sight of Derek stepping up to her.

"Oh my fuck." Leah breathed out, calming herself down, " _God_." Derek gave her an amused smile as he shoved his hands into his leather jacket.

"Leah." Derek nodded at her,

"Oh, don't _Leah_ me." Leah rolled her eyes, "You completely fucked me over!" Leah waved her hand at the new Alpha, "And Scott!" She added on, eyes going wide. Derek raised his eyebrows at her little outburst, "You killed the one person who knew who had my memories." Leah grumbled to herself, looking away from Derek as she re-crossed her arms over her chest,

"What if I could help you remember?" Derek asked, stepping closer to Leah. Leah glanced at him,

"Do you know who took them?" She carefully asked.

"No." Derek shook his head and Leah let out a scoff, shaking her head as she looked away from Derek again, "But I have another idea." Leah paused, licking her lips as she remembered her conversation with Connor.

"You want to turn me." She realized, eyebrows furrowing as she looked back over to Derek. Derek raised his shoulders up,

"It's your choice. But the bite cures all aliments." Derek explained, "You'd be able to remember everything." Leah eyed him for a moment and Derek continued, "I know how you feel about werewolves."

"Currently? Quite negatively." Leah instantly responded, getting a scoff from Derek.

"The idea of werewolves." Derek rephrased, "You think I don't know how you talked to Scott about how _cool_ you thought all the enhanced reflexes were."

"Yeah, well, that was before all this shit happened!" Leah waved her hands around.

"Think about it, Leah." Derek bit out, "You'd be stronger, faster, a better version of yourself." Leah chewed on her bottom lip, looking away from Derek.

"What about everything else?"

"You've done your research. You know almost everything there is to know…on a base level." Derek smiled to himself before he continued, "I'd help you, teach you things that Google can't tell you." Leah didn't immediately respond, turning the idea of being a werewolf over in her head.

"I'll think about it." Leah settled on, glancing back at Derek. Derek seriously nodded before walking past Leah, past the hospital and disappearing into the shadows. Leah watched him go, feeling a gust of cold wind against her. She heard the sliding doors open as people stepped out of the hospital.

"Hey." Leah turned at the sound of Scott's voice, seeing him walk out with a group of people. "What the hell?"

"Sorry." Leah took in a breath, remembering why she had come outside, "Sorry, I just…I totally freaked out." She pressed a hand to her forehead, "God, why am I like this?" She asked, mainly to herself.

"It's okay." Scott reached out to her, brow furrowing, "I didn't mean to pressure you or anything."

"Oh, no it's fine." Leah waved her hand around, "I needed the little kick in the ass." Scott gave her a small smile and nodded at her, "Still wanna take me home?"

"Yeah, sure." Scott nodded at her.

The two of them walked over to where Scott's bike was chained up, Leah getting on the handlebars as Scott settled onto the seat. While Scott pedaled towards Leah's house, Leah couldn't help but think about her short, yet interesting conversation with Derek. He wanted to turn her and make her a part of her pack. After the past several weeks of dealing with werewolf drama, Leah was pretty set on never becoming a werewolf, but Derek explaining that the bite would cure all aliments—including Leah's memory loss, was the part she kept circling back to. It made sense; Scott's asthma had disappeared after he was turned, but Leah wasn't so sure that she could use one point to define a rather unknown pattern. It was definitely something she needed to think about.

Slipping off of the handlebars, Leah noticed a red Mustang sitting across from her house. She glanced to Scott to see him looking rather confused.

"It's my Aunt Stella's." Leah got his attention, "Probably." She added on, not really knowing if that was true but it seemed like a car she would drive. "She volunteered to help with the baby so Mom and Dad could get back to work."

"Oh." Scott made a face and nodded, "Makes sense." Leah shrugged, stuffing her hands into her pockets.

"We'll see how long she lasts." Leah sighed, "Headed to Allison's?" Scott nodded, getting off of his bike.

"Yeah, what are you up to?"

"I'm actually kind of tired." Leah blinked, realizing it was true, "I feel like I haven't slept in days." Scott's forehead creased in worry. Leah noticed and tried to backtrack, "I'll be fine. I'll just head to bed early tonight." Scott nodded, but the crease of worry didn't disappear.

"Have fun with Allison." Leah gave him a small smile and nodded back at him. She stepped back and gave him a small wave before turning and walking up to her house.

Slowly, Leah pushed open the door to her house, fearing the worst. Her aunt had only been in town for less than a day, but still it was more than enough time for Stella to redecorate or have a party or really anything. But the foyer and living room looked intact, as did the dining room. Leah walked through the living room, seeing her brother in the kitchen, making himself a sandwich.

"Hey." Leah said as she looked around for her aunt.

"In the basement." Connor nodded his head to the side to the hall where there was a door that led to the basement, "She's unpacking."

"Oh, okay." Leah relaxed as she walked over to the island. She hopped up onto a stool and crossed her arms on top of the island.

"How's Lydia?"

"Fine." Leah shrugged, not really knowing if that was true or not, "Uh, ran into Derek." Connor raised his eyebrows and looked up at her,

"How'd that go?" Connor asked.

"He offered me the bite." She casually said, gauging her brother's reaction. His eyebrows shot up.

"What?" He almost shouted, rolling forward, "Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack." Leah sighed, picking at her fingernails. "I mean I—"

"I'm gonna kill him." Connor simply said as he cut Leah off, raising his shoulders up, "I'm going to cut him in half." He made a face as he stepped back from the island.

"Wait, what?" Leah asked, getting off of the stool as Connor headed for the back door, grabbing a jacket as he went, "Connor, where are you going?"

"I have to go find a sword." He responded, opening the door and stepping outside. It closed with a slam and Leah jumped a bit at the sound. She stared at the door for a moment, not knowing what to do. Her mouth opened slightly and she turned on her heels as she heard someone coming up the basement stairs. The door opened and her aunt Stella came out into the hallway, all smiles.

"There's my favorite niece!" Stella let out a squeal as she hurried over to Leah, wrapping her arms around Leah's frame. Leah was a bit taken aback by her aunt's excitement, eyes going wide as Stella hugged her tightly.

"Uh, hi, Aunt Stella." Leah responded, standing still as her aunt continued to hug her for a moment before stepping back,

"God, look at you! You've gotten so big!" Stella's hands were on Leah's shoulders and she shook Leah's body for a moment,

"Never heard that one before." Leah mumbled back. Stella laughed, shaking Leah again before letting her go.

"Where'd Connor go?" Stella asked, walking past Leah. Leah turned to watch her pick up Connor's sandwich and take a bite out of this,

"Uh, he went out." Leah made a face as she walked back over to the island. Stella nodded as she chewed on the sandwich.

"Oh, you must be hungry." Stella realized, eyes going wide, "Your dad said that you've been at the hospital all day with your mom." Leah shrugged, crossing her arms over herself, "Let me make you something."

"Didn't know you cooked." Leah let her brow furrow as Stella gave her an amused look,

"Don't sound so surprised, Lele." Stella shook her head before turning and opening the fridge, "A girl can only live on takeout for so long." Leah raised her eyebrows and nodded, going around the island and getting back onto the stools.

"I'm glad you're home!" Stella continued as she pulled out various ingredients, "We can catch up." Stella threw a wink at Leah over her shoulder, "I mean the last time I saw you, you were a still a kid. You had a scooter and a two sizes too big helmet." Stella set her ingredients on the island and then turned to the stove to start warming a pan up.

"Well, I traded that in for a longboard and lacrosse gear." Leah rested her elbows on the counter, making a face as Stella spin back around, grabbing some of the food she had taken from the fridge.

"I saw. Seems scary."

"Not even in the slightest." Leah raised her eyebrows. Skateboarding and lacrosse were the two most normal things about her life and she was planning on keeping them totally scare free.

"Okay, so skateboarding and lacrosse." Stella talked as she got to work, "What else? How's school? Sophomore, right?"

"Yep." Leah nodded.

"Any cuties out there?" Stella asked, turning back around, "Should I be guarding the doors?" Stella wielded a knife and got in a fighting position. Leah let out a little laugh

"Please don't." Leah said as she rolled her eyes. "I think you would freak him out." Leah held her hand up,

"Are you saying there is a boyfriend?" Stella asked, tilting her head and lowering the knife.

"Ah, well, I mean…I meant, well, generally. A general him..." Leah trailed off and Stella gave her a look before she stepped over to the island, propping herself up on her elbows,

"Do ya like him?"

"Yeah—"

"Did ya tell him?"

"I mean yeah, I guess, but—"

"Did ya kiss him?"

"…Yes, but that's not the—"

"I think he's your boyfriend, babe." Stella screwed her mouth to the side, pushing up from where she rested on the island. Leah pursed her lips and watched as her aunt turned to the stove.

"It's not like that." Leah flattened her hands against the island, "Trust me."

"Okay, got it, I'm prying, enough boy talk." Stella said, waving a hand over her shoulder, "What else can we talk about?"

"What else do you want to know?" Leah asked, going to pick at her nails.

"Uh, tell me some hobbies. You know? What do you do for fun? I mean, last I saw it was action figures, space and race cars."

"I like to bake." Leah shrugged, not really knowing what else to say, "That's about it."

"I remember, when you were little, we used to play with this little easy bake oven." Stella laughed to herself, "It made the _worst_ food, but you loved it."

"I did?" Leah pushed herself up onto her elbow. Stella turned around, leaning her back against the counter.

"Oh, yeah." Stella nodded, "Do you know if you still have it?"

"It might be in the attic." Leah shrugged, not really knowing. She never really went up in the attic, it was dusty and creepy.

"We should take a trip up there." Stella raised her eyebrows, a smirk on her face.

"Yeah, maybe some other time." Leah made a face. Stella nodded and turned back to the stove, flipping over whatever was on the pan. Leah watched her plate it and then turn back to present her creation to Leah.

"Ta-da!" Stella waved her hand around the sandwich, "Grilled cheese a la Stella." She winked at Leah as she placed the plate down in front of her. "Enjoy."

"Thanks, Aunt Stella." Leah eyed the grilled cheese before glancing back up at her aunt. "I'm actually gonna take this upstairs though. It's getting late and I have a ton of homework to get done before tomorrow morning." Leah clenched her teeth together as she reached for the plate.

"No, yeah, totally understandable, babe." Stella stepped back, putting her hands up, "Glad you're focusing on your studies." Stella gave her a warm smile. Leah responded with a small smile and nodded,

"I'll see you tomorrow." Leah said as she slipped off the stool, "Thanks for the grilled cheese." She raised her plate up at Stella. Stella nodded as Leah turned away from her aunt, walking out of the kitchen and into the living room.

* * *

Looking over his shoulder, Stiles checked to make sure none of his dad's deputies followed after him. None of them had so Stiles faced front, pressing his phone a bit more forcefully against his ear as Leah's voicemail greeted him. He waited for the beep as he walked out of the hospital,

"Hey, it's me. Something happened at the hospital. Your mom and Zoey are fine, but Lydia's gone. Like disappeared into thin air gone. We're going out to search for her, so it'd be nice if you helped. Yeah?" Stiles paused, wanting to say something else, but he just hung up, shoving his phone into his pocket.

He hadn't talked to Leah since the night she almost pushed him out of the tree in front of her bedroom window. The way she looked at him, the way she spoke to him was still fresh in his mind, almost like an open wound. If anything, what had happened with Leah that night in her bedroom window reminded Stiles so much of what he had went through with his mom. Being a stranger to Leah, being accused of something he didn't do, the abrupt change in attitude — it all felt way too familiar. But it was also unfamiliar; it wasn't being caused by something natural, but rather it was being caused by something supernatural. Something that could be easily fixed, if they knew how to fix it.

It didn't change how Stiles felt about her, a tidbit he had left out from his story when he told Scott what had happened, not ready to admit it out loud — even though he was pretty sure Scott knew just by how he looked at him. That he had feelings for _Leah Kane,_ the girl who he had hated for a good portion of his life. The girl who incessantly teased and taunted him and who he returned the favor to. But he was slowly beginning to realize that he had just been burying his feelings under layers of disgust in order to try and convince himself that he _didn't_ like Leah.

He had hoped the memory lapse wasn't permanent, something that would just go away in a few hours and he would be able to text Leah and have her respond in a natural way. But he just couldn't go through with it. He didn't know what to say to her — there were about ten different drafts of texts saved in his phone that he never sent. So he waited for her text first. But she never did.

Then when he saw her in the hospital for a split second, the look on her face made a knot form in his stomach. He went to text her again, only to stop himself, not knowing what to say. It was all just…complicated. So again, he waited. Ended up falling asleep on the chairs in front of Lydia's room, his mind still on Leah.

When he woke up from his mid-evening nap, everything happened so fast, Stiles was still trying to put it together. He had heard Lydia's scream, bolted to her bedroom — fearing the worse, only to find her room completely empty. She was gone. From there, the floor was full of his dad and his deputies, even Tara had come down, still dressed in a hospital gown and robe. They put an APB out on Lydia, realizing she was completely naked out on one of the coldest nights of the year. Stiles got in contact with Scott, beginning to get ready to go out and search for her, when he decided to call Leah to see if she could help. But all he got was her voicemail.

Scott was waiting in the Jeep as Stiles walked outside. He had Lydia's hospital gown in his hand and handed it over to Scott as he climbed in the Jeep. Scott gave him a small smile as he took the hospital gown.

"Have you heard from Leah?" Stiles asked, "I tried calling her but she didn't pick up."

"She's probably just sleeping." Scott assured him, "When I dropped her off, she said she was really tired." Stiles let out a sigh, leaning back against the seat and rubbing his hand over his mouth,

"But she was okay when you dropped her off, right?"

"Yeah." Scott said, eyebrows furrowing in worry, "Yeah, she seemed totally normal." Scott looked down at the hospital gown, "This is the one Lydia was just wearing, right?" Stiles nodded, blowing out a breath.

"I'm not gonna let anyone hurt her." Scott reassured Stiles, "Not again."

"Alright, just shove the thing in your face and let's find her." Stiles motioned to his face before starting up his Jeep. His headlights illuminated Allison hurrying out of the hospital, staring straight at them "Wooow!" Stiles jumped at the sight. Allison hurried over to the passenger side door, coming up to Scott.

"What are you doing here? Someone's gonna see us." Scott hissed out.

"I don't care—she is my best friend, and we need to find her before they do." Allison seriously said, hands clenching at her sides.

"I can find her before the cops can." Scott seriously said.

"How about before my father does?" Allison raised her eyebrows.

"He knows?" Stiles chimed in, leaning forward to see Allison better.

"Yeah. I just saw him and three other guys leave my house in two SUVs." Stiles leaned back in his seat. If Argent knew about what happened to Lydia, that meant there was less time for them to find her. Especially because Argent was probably hunting her whereas Stiles and the rest were just trying to save her.

"Search party." Scott whispered.

"It's more like a hunting party." Allison made a face as Scott turned to Stiles, sharing a look with him before looking back at Allison.

"Get in." Scott said as he pushed open the door so Allison could get into the Jeep.

Allison climbed over Scott and got in the backseat. Stiles waited until she was situated before backing up and exiting out of the hospital parking lot. Scott pressed Lydia's gown to his face and then stuck his head out the window, picking up her scent. He shouted back for Stiles to go straight.

"All right, but if she's turning, would they actually kill her?" Stiles continued the conversation Allison had started in the parking lot as he drove down the road.

"I don't know. They won't tell me anything." Stiles glanced in the rearview mirror at Allison, giving her a disbelieving look, "Okay, all they say is, We'll talk after Kate's funeral, when the others get here." Allison repeated what her dad had told her early in the day.

"What others?"

"I don't know, they won't tell me that, either." Allison raised her hand up before dropping it to her lap.

"Okay, your family's got some serious communication issues to work on." Stiles glanced at her for a moment before looking at the road, "Scott, are we going the right way?"

"Take the next right!" Scott's voice came back. Stiles did as he was told.

Soon, the scent led the group into the woods. Stiles parked his Jeep outside of the entrance to the Preserve and pushed out of the driver's side, Scott and Allison following. He walked ahead of the two of them, glancing back every so often to make sure that they were still with him. Stiles checked his phone for any new messages from Leah, but there weren't any. Part of him began to worry about her while the other part was worried about Lydia. He didn't know why she came out here, in the middle of the woods, naked.

The three of them came upon the Hale house and Stiles glanced back at Scott to see him holding hands with Allison, "She came here? You sure?" He asked.

"Yeah, this is where the scent leads." Stiles stared at his best friend for a moment before sighing and turning back to look at the Hale house, walking forward a few steps before glancing back at Scott.

"All right, but has Lydia ever been here?"

"Not with me." Allison said as Scott shook his head, "Maybe Leah took her here." Allison suggested. Stiles barked out a laugh.

"Okay, Leah would never willingly go somewhere with Lydia. She would only take her here to like kill her or scare her or something." Stiles let his arms drop to his side and walked forward, continuing to the Hale house.

"Maybe Lydia came here on instinct, like she was looking for Derek." Allison lowly said to Scott.

"You mean looking for an Alpha." Scott realized, looking back at the Hale house. There was something else in the air, besides Lydia's scent. It smelled almost of Leah, but Scott shrugged it off, thinking it was just coming from himself since he had been with Leah earlier in the evening.

"Wolves need a pack, right?" Allison asked, getting his attention back to her.

"Not all of them." Scott answered.

"But would she have been drawn to an Alpha? Is it an instinct to be part of a pack?"

"Yeah, we're—we're stronger in packs." Scott explained what Connor had told him earlier in the weekend as he watched Stiles amble around the front of the Hale house.

"Like strength in numbers."

"No, like—like, literally stronger, faster, better in every way." Scott continued, remembering his conversation with Leah's older brother. After everything that had happened, Connor and Scott had a very long talk about almost everything Connor knew about werewolves and werewolf packs. He was more forthcoming with information than he ever was and Scott figured it was because he still felt a little bit guilty about what had happened. Connor wanted to make sure it didn't happen again, so he made sure Scott was informed.

"That the same for an Alpha?" Allison asked, hands in her coat pockets, "It'll make Derek stronger too, right?"

"Ooh, hey, look at this." Stiles' voice got the two to glance over to him. Allison hurried over to him to see what he found, "You see this? I think it's a tripwire." Stiles pulled on the tripwire and waited for something to happen.

"Stiles…" Scott said, sounding strained.

"Yeah, buddy—Oh." Stiles turned to see that Scott was hanging upside down, dangling by his ankle which was caught in the trap.

"Next time you see a tripwire…don't trip it." Scott groaned as Allison clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter.

"Yeah, noted." The two went to help Scott get down when he suddenly stopped them, putting his hands out.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait." Scott quickly said, "Someone's coming." Allison and Stiles both went to look around the area as Scott urged them to go hide, "Go!" Stiles grabbed Allison's hand and pulled her back the way they came, tugging her behind a tree a little ways away from where Scott was dangling. Allison was peering over Stiles's shoulder, still trying to keep the two of them semi-hidden as they watched three men stepped out into the clearing.

"That's your dad." Stiles whispered.

"I know." Allison whispered back. They were both quiet for a moment, watching what Mr. Argent was going to do to Scott, before Stiles opened his mouth.

"Have you talked to Leah tonight?" Stiles whispered out. He felt Allison's grip on his shoulder tense up for a moment before she answered him,

"Ah, no we haven't talked since formal." Allison whispered back, before pausing for a moment, "We kind of aren't on speaking terms."

"Why?" Stiles asked, looking back at her. He thought the two girls were friends. He actually thought it was pretty funny how quickly Leah and Allison became friends; Leah always swore she wasn't good with people and girls didn't like her at all. Neither of them said anything about a falling out and Stiles knew how Leah got when she was mad at someone.

"Because…it's complicated." Allison settled on, not wanting to try and explain it. She honestly hadn't talked to Leah since the fight at the Hale house.

Earlier in the night, when Allison saw Leah's name on her phone, she almost didn't answer it, but it was only Scott and Allison felt a little relieved; she didn't even know what she would say to Leah. Part of her wanted to apologize for not believing Leah about Kate, but a part of her was still mad about being kept in the dark for so long. All she knew for sure was that she missed her friend, wanting their fight to be over so they could go back to how they were—maybe be even closer without the dark cloud of secrets looming over them.

"Have you talked to her?" Allison whispered back, trying to change the subject.

"No." Stiles's voice was still hushed, "I keep trying to text her, but I can't think of anything to say."

"About what?" Allison asked, brow furrowing, then her expression changed, eyes going wide, "Oh my God, did she tell you she had a crush on you?" Allison asked, getting him to look at her.

"What? How do you know about that?" Stiles quickly asked back, "I thought you two weren't speaking?"

"Do you like her too?" Allison asked, blowing past his questions, "Stiles, did you tell her you liked her back?" Stiles made a face and tilted his head to the side,

"Not exactly." Allison squinted at him and went to open her mouth to say something, but the sound of footsteps got their attention.

They watched as Argent and his men walked away from Scott before Allison stepped out from behind the tree, going up to where Scott was still hanging.

"You okay?" Allison asked.

"Just another life threatening conversation with your dad." Scott said, voice still strained from hanging upside down. Allison glanced over to see the release on a nearby tree.

"Stiles, help me with this—" She put her hand on Stiles's arm before hurrying over to the tree, Stiles behind her, and both of them tried to figure out a way to let the trap release. Scott, on the other hand, decided to use his claws and slice through the wire, flipping over so he could land on his feet.

"Thanks. But I think I got it." Scott proudly stood in front of Stiles and Allison, grinning at them. Stiles made a face and let go of the release.

"Yeah…" Stiles nodded as Scott turned to face the Hale house. Scott glanced back at Allison and Stiles before looking back at the Hale house and stepping forward. He picked up Leah's scent again, and this time it was stronger than it was while they were walking through the woods. His brow furrowed as they got closer to the Hale house.

Stiles followed Scott up the steps of the Hale house and noticed that his best friend was on high alert. He thought that it was just because Lydia's scent was stronger since they were so much closer to the Hale house. Once they got into the house, Stiles brushed past Scott, heading for the stairs. He glanced back at the other two to see them standing there, Scott looking a little confused and worried.

"I'll take the upstairs, you guys split the down stairs?" Stiles asked, suggesting a game plan to look through the Hale house a little quicker and find Lydia. Allison nodded and headed past the stairs, into the back, but Scott just stood there.

"Scott?" Stiles asked, trying to get Scott's attention, "You good, man?"

"Yeah…" Scott nodded a little, "Just something's different." Stiles looked at him for a moment before turning back to look up the stairs.

"It's probably just this house." Stiles let his eyes travel around the burnt down house, "We gotta find Lydia."

"Right." Scott nodded and headed to the left, into what seemed to be a dining room at one point. Stiles continued up the stairs, walking down the hall to peer into what was left of a bedroom. There was no sign of Lydia. Stiles sighed and went to walk down the opposite end of the hall, to the other room, when he heard Allison's voice.

"Scott! Stiles!" She called out to them. It didn't sound like she was in danger, but Stiles still ran down the stairs, heading into the room where Allison was, gut knotting up.

She was standing in front of the couch, one hand by her mouth and the other across her stomach. Her eyes flicked up to look at Stiles and concern was written all over her face. Stiles quickly moved to get to her, thinking that Allison had found Lydia and that something bad had happened to her. Yet, when he got to the couch and stared down at what Allison was looking at, it was clear that it was much worse.

"Leah…" Stiles whispered.

He heard Scott's footsteps running up next to him and then abruptly stopping at the sight of their best friend. Stiles crouched down in front of her, seeing that her eyes were closed and she was curled up in a ball, shivering. Her lips were moving, but no sound was coming out. She didn't have any shoes on and there were knots in her hair and dirt smudged all over her bare arms and legs.

Stiles hesitantly reached out to touch her shoulder and Leah's eyes flashed open, making Stiles tumbled backwards onto his butt. She took in a deep breath and shot up into a sitting position, eyes wildly looking around.

"What the fuck?" Leah whispered out, shifting on the couch, "How the hell did I get here?" She made eye contact with Allison and Scott before her gaze dropped down to Stiles, "…what happened?" Leah swallowed, her hands gripping at the worn in couch cushions.

"Was hoping that you could tell me." Stiles seriously said, pushing to his feet. He reached down and helped Leah off of the couch. She was dressed in a pair of shorts and a tank top, and continued to shiver against him. Stiles quickly stripped off his coat, had Leah slip it on and then he zipped it all the way up. Leah was short enough that the jacket came down to her thighs and her hands were covered by the sleeves.

Stiles glanced over at Scott and Allison, who both looked extremely worried at the sight of Leah. Allison took off her hat and gloves, handing them to Leah, who carefully took them. Neither girl said anything. Stiles glanced back down at Leah and then back up at Scott and Allison. "I'm, uh, gonna take Leah home." Scott and Allison immediately nodded. "Call if you find Lydia or anything of hers."

"Lydia?" Leah asked, getting Stiles to look at her, "What's wrong with Lydia?"

"I'll explain later. Let's just get you home." Stiles sighed. Leah blinked and nodded, seeming out of it. Allison reached out to comfort Leah, only to stop herself and settle on giving her a small, sad smile.

Stiles led Leah back to the Jeep, helping her into the passenger seat before jogging around to the driver's side. They sat there for a moment, both of them quiet as the heat blasted from the vents, all of them directed at Leah. Stiles opened his mouth to ask the question that was on his mind, when Leah cut him off.

"I don't know." Leah glanced over to him, "I don't know how I got there or why I was there." Stiles stared back at her.

"Do you remember what happened before you ended up in the woods?" Leah looked away from him, staring out the windshield.

"I was in my room." She nodded, "I was changing into comfy clothes cause I wanted to work on some homework. I must've fallen asleep…and then, the next thing I knew, I woke up in the Hale house."

"Any weird dreams?" Stiles asked.

"I don't know."

"Well do you—"

"I don't know!" Leah suddenly snapped out, "I don't know! I don't!" She spastically waved her hands around herself, looking to Stiles, "Stop _berating_ me with questions!" Leah was frustrated, mostly at herself, but it was easier to project her anger onto Stiles.

"I'm just trying to help." Stiles said. Leah looked away from him, looking down at her lap.

"I'm _fine_." Leah seethed out.

"You so obviously aren't!" Stiles laughed a little. Leah glared at him before crossing her arms over her chest. She looked back out the windshield and took in a breath,

"Just take me home." Leah seriously said, not wanting to talk about it anymore. Slowly, she was beginning to realize the situation she was in and how Stiles was looking at her. Like she was a baby bird who had a broken wing. And she hated it. She felt embarrassed and vulnerable and just wanted to be away from Stiles's worried gaze.

"You could've died, Leah. Don't you get how serious this is?" Stiles stared at her, trying to get through to her. Leah shifted in her seat, not looking at him.

"Just _take_ me _home_." Leah repeated herself, this time with a little bit more force behind it. Stiles took in a deep breath and turned back to look out the windshield, starting up the Jeep.

He was angry at Leah for the way she was handling the situation. It was almost like she was convinced that nothing was wrong. That she didn't just sleepwalk to the Hale house from her house in the middle of the night. That there wasn't something seriously wrong with her head. And Stiles knew Leah, knew that she would act like nothing was wrong until it went away. But this wasn't something that she could just act through, it was going to get worse and Stiles needed to find a way to help her.

As he got out onto the main road, Stiles glanced over to see Leah lift her jacket covered hand and wipe at her face, almost like she was wiping away tears, her hair falling from where she tucked it behind her ear. He wanted nothing more than to tuck the hair behind her ear and tell her that he was there for her, that he didn't want her to push him away, that he cared about her. But he kept quiet.

* * *

 _A/N: Welcome to the first chapter of the second book of the HOW TO MURDER YOUR LIFE series! Looking forward to all of your reactions to this! Any questions, comments, concerns or cries of outrage?_


	2. Just Friends

**_A/N: Rated M for a lil ~sexy times~ ahead._**

* * *

The marble sink counter was cold under Rachel Pierce's bare thighs. Her skirt had been hiked up and her underwear was next to her on the counter. The man currently sucking at her neck got her to moan as she tugged at his hair. The counter wasn't giving her a lot of friction as the man rocked inside of her, but she took what she could get, wrapping her legs around his hips and pushing him deeper inside of her. He had one hand around her thigh, his grip bruising her skin while his other hand was ghosting over her breast, thumb circling her nipple.

Rachel let her head fall back against the mirror, eyes closing as the man continued his rhythm. Her thoughts drifted back to how she had gotten onto the sink counter of the women's room in a crappy bar in a town she had never heard of. But she hadn't come to Beacon Hills for sex—although that was an added bonus. She had come to town to find her friend, after he had disappeared from school almost two months before. But if all the people in Beacon Hills were as welcoming as the one sucking a hickey to her neck, Rachel wasn't complaining.

A few minutes later, Rachel felt the man tense and she felt his sharp nails dig into her thigh as he came. Rachel let her mouth drop open at the sensation and she let him drag his nails down, trying to remember if they looked as long and sharp as they felt. The only other sound in the bathroom was the man's heavy breathing, one hand on the mirror by Rachel's head, the other still gripping her thigh. Rachel let her legs drop from around his waist and picked her head up from the mirror. Her hands were still in his hair and Rachel yanked his head up so she could messily kiss him as he pulled out from her and fixed himself. Then Rachel pushed his head down, making him slide back as she lowered him to where her legs were still open, indicating what he should do next.

As the man ate her out, Rachel reached for where she had set her beer, taking a swig from it as she used her other hand to push back her hair from her face. She placed her free hand back on top of the man's head, guiding him. Shifting down, Rachel got comfortable, sipping at her beer as she let her thoughts wander.

Beacon Hills, California was not what Rachel was expecting. Whenever she thought about California, she thought about warm weather and sunshine, not realizing that Connor lived in the northest part of Northern California. Her little spring jacket wasn't going to cut it, which was why she found solace in the bar, convincing herself that she would probably find Connor _in_ a bar, since that was where they met. Sex trivia, circa 2009, team name: "Win or Lose, We're All Going Home To Masturbate Alone." They had won, and from there their friendship blossomed.

There was no sign of Connor, but there was a tall, mysterious, handsome stranger which was basically Rachel's kryptonite — especially when he put her and her beers on his tab. His charming smile, piercing eyes and five o'clock shadow made Rachel weak in the knees — plus her beers weren't helping the situation. And then she ended up on the bathroom sink counter, letting this stranger bury his face into her.

Rachel let out a moan, leaning forward as the stranger gently rolled his tongue over her clit. His fingers had slipped in to help her along and soon Rachel was bucking against his face, setting her beer down so she could press her hand against the counter to steady herself. With one final swipe of his tongue, Rachel felt herself come and her grip on his hair tightened, pushing him into her so he stayed down there as she came.

When he pulled back, his lips were shiny and he smirked at her as he licked his lips, even getting her to shiver as he placed his fingers into his mouth, cleaning them off. He pushed to his feet and let Rachel come down from her high, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Rachel followed him with her eyes, seeing him zip his pants up and go over to the sink next to her, washing his hands.

"Commendable." Rachel breathed out, getting an amused smile from her stranger. She shifted down on the counter, slipping off of it as her heels hit the tiled floors. She pulled down her skirt, twisting slightly so it was straight. Then she turned back to the mirror and fixed her hair before reaching for her beer. She grabbed her purse with her other hand and glanced to the man, seeing that he had her underwear dangling from his fingers.

"Keep 'em." Rachel said with a shrug, reaching over him to begin to wash her hands, "They're not even my favorite pair." The man raised his eyebrows at her as Rachel shrugged again, "Nice meeting you." Rachel slipped around the man, walking out of the bathroom and into the bar. She smirked to herself, shaking her head slightly as she walked through the bar, grabbing her coat from where it was in the booth next to the stranger's leather jacket before heading for the exit.

Stepping outside, the cold was already nipping at Rachel's bare arms and she quickly shrugged into her light coat, zipping it all the way up and trying to get herself warm. She started off towards her motel, checking her phone for any missed texts. Pulling up her conversation with Connor, she quickly tapped at her phone, adding to the slew of unanswered texts already in their thread. She didn't bother telling him she was in town; she had already gotten his address from his now ex fling, Ben — it didn't take much to get it out of him.

But she had gotten into town later than she intended, which led her to going to the bar, which then led to the sex, and all of it had distracted Rachel. She told herself she would find Connor first thing in the morning, right after she rented a car. First she needed to shower.

The motel was just as crappy as the bar and Rachel was pretty sure she was the only one staying there. She hadn't seen any other cars in the parking lot and the vacancy sign buzzed above her as she hurried across the parking lot. But it had hot water and a bed so Rachel wasn't complaining. She took a long shower, letting the water warm her up and she noticed that there were marks up on her inner thigh, right were the man had been pressing his nails into her. They looked almost like claw marks.

"Kinky." Rachel whispered to herself.

* * *

Leah rolled over onto her side, opening her eyes to come face to cat. Webster stared at her rather curiously before she reached out from under her covers to pet him. He scampered away after Leah stopped petting him. She sat up in bed, shoving a hand through her hair and glancing at her clock. Her stomach dropped when she saw that it was already past eleven.

"Fuck!" She yelled out, flipping the covers off of her and scrambling out of bed. She took off down the hall to the bathroom. Connor was coming out of the bathroom, only for Leah to shove by him as she yelled, "Why didn't you wake me up!?"

Connor flinched as the door slammed in his face before letting out a breath. He eyed the bathroom door for a moment before turning away. Connor had spent part of the previous night talking, or rather arguing with Derek about how he shouldn't have offered Leah the bite. Derek made some good points about his sister, citing that it was Leah's decision and that it would cure whatever was happening to her. Connor wasn't as convinced, warning Derek to look elsewhere for new pack members and making it perfectly clear that Leah was not to be turned. He wasn't looking at the bite to be the magic fix all to Leah's memory problems, especially because as far as he was concerned, they weren't that bad. He would talk to Deaton and find some other options before he even considered Leah turning — wanting a doctor's visit rather than a supernatural cure.

But then she came storming in later that night, with Stiles on her heels. Stiles explained, as Leah stomped up the stairs, that he and the others had found her out in the woods. She had slept walked all the way out to the Hale house with no recollection of how she got there. Connor tried to talk to her, but she didn't answer any of his questions, just telling him that she was fine.

So he let her sleep in, figuring she needed to rest after sleepwalking out to the woods. But that had backfired on him very, very quickly.

Leah finished in the bathroom and stomped out, going past Connor as she grumbled to herself. Connor watched her go back into her room for a minute before reappearing in jeans and a shirt, her backpack slung around her shoulder.

"I could at least drive you." Connor offered, only to have Leah flip him off from over her shoulder. He sighed, going into his room.

Leah hurried down the stairs, tossing her backpack towards the door as she hurried into the kitchen. She was furious. Her alarm hadn't gone off, which meant she was late for school. Plus, she had missed morning practice, which meant Coach was _not_ going to be happy with her. Her phone was on the counter, lit up with missed texts from Scott asking how she was and if she was coming to school. Leah exited out of the messages and rested her hands against the counter, leaning forward a little as she remembered the events of the previous night.

She still had no idea how she got to the Hale house. Or why she was there. Leah was just more confused than ever. But she decided to move past it, ignoring it and pretending that nothing was wrong. It was the easiest thing to do and she didn't want to worry her family or friends.

"No, I heard what you said." The sound of Tara's voice made Leah look up, seeing her mom and dad walk into the kitchen. Tara had her phone in one hand and a diaper bag on her shoulder, while Drew was carrying to baby carrier with Zoey inside.

"I just…don't understand why she would take the liver. Or why she was there in the first place." Tara continued only to stop herself when she caught sight of Leah, "I'll call you back, Sheriff. Let me know if anything else comes up about Lydia." Tara ended her call and hiked the diaper bag up a bit as Drew walked up to stand next to her, "Aren't you supposed to be in school?" She asked, squinting at Leah.

"My alarm didn't go off and I woke up like two minutes ago." Leah made a face, turning back to grab an apple, "I'm leaving now."

"Good." Tara nodded, watching Leah grab her phone.

"Who stole a liver?" Leah nonchalantly asked, shoving her phone into the back pocket of her pants. Tara fixed her with a look and Leah licked her lips, rocking back on her heels, "What happened to Lydia?"

"You know what happened." Tara's brow furrowed, "Dad told me he told you last night that she disappeared." Leah opened her mouth a little bit, glancing at her dad, who looked semi-concerned. Leah made a face, pretending she remembered.

"Right, yeah. I meant are there any leads?" Leah asked. Tara raised her eyebrows and shared a look with Drew, letting it dawn on Leah that Lydia was the one Tara had been talking about, "Oh my god, ew." Leah made a face in disgust.

"Go to school." Tara jerked her head back. Leah nodded, walking forward and getting to her mom. She gently hugged her.

"See you later." She said before reaching up to hug her dad.

"Be safe." Tara replied as Leah walked out of the kitchen and to the front door, grabbing her backpack and heading out of the front door.

Leah hurried down the front steps and down the walkway, getting to the street and dropping her board on the ground. She stepped on, pushing off as she reached into her back pocket for her phone, composing a text to Scott. Leah had no idea if Scott already knew that Lydia had stolen a liver from a dead guy, but she felt like she needed to tell him. Plus, she had no clue that Lydia was missing.

 _Lydia is missing? And she stole a liver?_

She glanced up from her phone just in time to see a car heading straight towards her. Her eyes widened and Leah pushed off of her board, letting it go awry as she jumped to the side, moving just in time. The car went past her and Leah stepped out into the street, middle finger in the air as she watched it continue down the street.

"Fuck you!" She shouted out before jogging over to grab her board from the curb. She didn't bother looking back at where the car went, just continued to the high school.

* * *

Rachel glanced in her rearview mirror, seeing a tiny blonde girl who had her middle fingers up at her. She blew out a breath and focused back on the road; she hadn't been paying attention in the first place which caused her to almost hit the girl. Her heart was pounding against her ribcage as Rachel continued to calm herself down. The girl was fine, she was fine. No biggie.

As she pulled up in front of the house, Rachel double checked the address against the text she had from Ben. It matched so Rachel parked her car and stared up at the house, taking in all the windows and awnings. Turning the car off, she pushed out of the driver's side door, walking around the car and getting onto the sidewalk.

Hiking up her purse, Rachel started up the front walk, noticing that parked in the driveway was Connor's car and Rachel felt herself relax slightly at the sight of it. Although she felt a little weird just showing up at Connor's house, she quickly pushed aside the feeling she got to the front door. She pressed her finger against the doorbell and stepped back a little so that the door could open.

Connor jogged down the stairs when he heard the doorbell. Tara glanced at him from her position on the couch, looking a little confused, "Who is it?"

"I don't know, Mom." Connor gave his mom a look as he reached for the door, "Can't see through doors." Tara gave him an unamused look and returned her attention to Zoey. Connor opened the door with an amused smile on his face that quickly fell off when he saw who was standing on the front stoop.

"…Hey." Rachel quietly said, giving Connor a tight smile as she wrapped her arms around her midsection. Connor looked over her, taking in her button up under her sweater and skinny jeans with a pair of heeled boots.

"Hey." Connor's brow furrowed as he leaned against the front door, "Uh, what are you doing here?"

"Connor!" Tara's voice called out, "Who is it?" Connor glanced over his shoulder at Tara before looking back at Rachel. He gestured for her to come inside, stepping back and closing the door as Rachel stepped inside.

"Mom, this is Rachel." Connor introduced Rachel as they walked into the living room. Tara stood up from the couch, turning with Zoey in her arms. "Rachel, this is my mom and my sister Zoey."

"I thought your sister was older?" Rachel questioned, looking up at him, her brow furrowing.

"Right, she is." Connor motioned with his hand, "She's at school." Rachel let her mouth drop into a little O as she nodded.

"You're one of Connor's school friends?" Tara asked.

"Uh, yeah…yes." Rachel quickly corrected herself, "We actually didn't have any classes together…..more like extracurriculars." Rachel shrugged as Tara nodded slightly.

"What brings you to Beacon Hills?" Rachel looked up at Connor, who had his eyebrows raised at her.

"Just checking in." Rachel shrugged, "Connor kinda disappeared so I was just…worried."

"Sweet." Connor mumbled under his breath, just loud enough for Rachel to hear him. She blew out a breath in response. Tara nodded at her and stepped around the couch.

"Well, make yourself at home." Tara gave Rachel a warm smile, "Do you need someplace to stay?"

"Oh, no, I'm okay. I'm at the motel downtown." Rachel heard Connor groan beside her and looked at him to see his hands in his pockets, "What?"

"You're not staying there."

"Then where am I staying?" Rachel asked, blinking a bit.

"My friend owns a loft building downtown and he owes me a favor." Connor casually said.

"Then _why_ are you still here?" Tara asked out, but it was clear she didn't really mind Connor staying.

"Ma, I'm just helping out with Zoey." Connor pressed a hand to his chest. Tara rolled her eyes as she walked up to the two of them.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Rachel."

"You too, Mrs. Kane." Rachel gave Tara a small smile as Tara walked out of the room, heading up the stairs with Zoey. Connor's head flicked to look at Rachel as he moved around the couch to sit, Rachel following.

"What exactly are you doing here?" Connor whispered out. He was glad to see his friend, but he was concerned as to the details of Rachel's visit. He knew she was curious and he didn't want her getting involved with the supernatural — especially considering he knew how her thought process went.

"Like I said," Rachel set her purse on the ground and sat down next to Connor, "I was worried about you." She went into her purse and pulled out a couple file folders, "I broke into your apartment and found nothing except for this stuff in the desk drawers." She casually said as if she hadn't committed a crime. She spread out the files so Connor could see that they were in fact from his apartment, "Who the hell are the Hales? Who's this Dr. Fenris guy? And _why_ are you so interested in the fire that killed the Hale family?" She looked over at Connor, who wasn't surprised but looked sort of unsure about what to do next.

* * *

"You're here." Scott noted, surprised at seeing Leah slide down across from him at the table in the cafeteria. Leah gave him a look as she reached for her water,

"Yeah, my alarm didn't go off this morning." She sighed as if that was enough of explanation. She silently wished that Scott wouldn't bring up what happened the previous night and Scott seemed to almost read her mind, nodding and giving her a small smile.

"Hate when that happens." He tried to be as casual as she was, even if he could feel the anxiety and tension coming off of her in waves. It was mixed with subtle embarrassment and uncertainty, so he wasn't about to make it worse.

"Is Stiles here?" Leah asked, looking around the cafeteria.

"He should be soon." Scott bobbed his head, "I think Harris is giving him detention again." Scott quickly raised his eyebrows. Leah made a face and nodded, "Did you get a chance to talk to him last night?" Scott carefully asked, broaching the topic of the previous night rather gently.

"Uh, no." Leah shifted in her seat and swallowed, "It didn't seem like the right time." Scott nodded, understanding what she was saying.

"But…you do, have feelings for him still, right?" Scott raised a hand out as his brow furrowed.

"Uhm, yeah." Leah straightened up, "They aren't just magically going away…unfortunately." She added as an afterthought, letting out a sigh.

"I mean, I think it's good." Scott responded, eyebrows raising as he got a look from Leah, "I mean, maybe he…likes you back." Scott was trying to tread lightly, not wanting to tell Leah what he knew, but wanting her to know that he was supportive.

"Yeah, okay." Leah scoffed, "If I really did tell him about my _feelings_ the other night and he felt the same, then why didn't he text me about it? Or at all?" Leah asked, raising a hand up. Scott made a face and shrugged. "I don't know, Scott. I feel like I should just…ignore it." She sighed, tossing a chicken finger down on her tray, "Can we change the subject?" She asked, looking up at her best friend, "Talking about this is making me uncomfortable." Scott nodded, shifting in his seat, "Uh, okay, how bout, what the hell is going on with Lydia?" Leah changed the subject. Scott let out a breath and sat back in his seat,

"She disappeared from the hospital last night and they still haven't found her." Scott simply explained, "We were out there looking for her last night, but we…we found you." Scott awkwardly finished, glancing to his friend. Leah shifted in her seat, getting more uncomfortable.

"Right." She swallowed and nodded, "Okay, uhm, what about the whole _taking the liver_ thing." She continued, not even letting Scott linger on the fact that they had found her in the middle of the Hale house.

"I have no idea." Scott sighed

"So is she turning?" Leah asked, raising her eyebrows. Scott shrugged, making Leah let out a sigh, "Come on, you're the test case for this." She waved her hand at Scott, "I mean, you never stole a liver, but does any of this seem familiar to you?"

"No." Scott raised his eyebrows and shook his head, "I have no idea what's happening to her." Leah sat back in her seat and went to look around the cafeteria.

She spotted Stiles stepping out of the food line causing her to straighten up in her seat as her heart rate picked up, something that Scott noticed immediately. He followed her line of vision to see Stiles walking over to them. Leah quickly pushed out of her seat, grabbing her bag and hurrying away from the table. Scott watched her walk to the complete opposite side of the cafeteria, avoiding Stiles in the most extra way possible as she exited through the middle doors. Scott let out a sigh, not being able to help the eye roll at his best friend's antics.

* * *

Connor glanced over from where he was working on the spiderweb of how everything in the town connected to see Rachel sitting on the motel bed, flipping through the police file reports as she let her hot coffee get ice cold before she drank it. After she had shown up at Connor's house, demanding answers to questions Connor didn't even know she had, Connor took her back to her motel room, promising to explain everything. He had started with the basics, nothing too crazy that would scare her off, but then Rachel started asking questions in typical Rachel style. It was then that he decided to tell her the full story, instead of weaving another web of lies. After everything that had happened with Leah, he had learned his lesson; it was better for people to know.

"So tell me why this Kate Argent was found guilty." Rachel started, getting Connor's attention as she moved from the bed, getting to her feet, "All because of this necklace?" Rachel flipped over one of the pictures of the Argent necklace that was stained with Kate's blood so Connor could see. Connor had made copies of all of the files that the sheriff had dropped off in Tara's room while she was recovering. He had let Rachel flip through the police reports of the previous weekend, plus the files from all of the "animal attacks" that had been Peter's victims, noting how incredibly normal it all seemed.

"It doesn't make any sense." Rachel continued, "With the marks on the bodies, it had to be some sort of animal. Unless the bitch had really long fake nails." Rachel raised her eyebrows, reaching for her coffee cup.

"You're right. It was an animal." Connor put down his pen and took in a breath. He turned to look at Rachel full on, "It was a werewolf." Rachel felt coffee go up her nose as she snorted in disbelief. She put down the cup and wiped her nose with the back of her hand, still laughing.

"You can't be serious." She shook her head, "A _werewolf?_ Connor, come on." Rachel rolled her eyes at her friend.

"I am serious!" Connor pushed himself out of the chair, stepping over to the bed, "Ray, a werewolf did all of that." He motioned to all the pictures of Peter's victims that were spread out. Rachel laughed a little, but decided to play along. She dropped the file folder she was currently holding on the bed and stepped up to Connor,

"Okay." She put her hands up in front of her, "Let say that a werewolf did kill all these people. Where is he now? Are there more of them? Did he have help? And why pin it on this woman?"

"It's complicated." Connor sighed out, "But you have to believe me." He put his hands out as Rachel rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest and falling onto her foot, hip popping out. "This town is pretty much a beacon for supernatural beings."

"Ironic." Rachel reached for her coffee again, obviously not convinced. "I'll need some sort of physical proof before I believe there are _werewolves_ running around."

"Fine. I'll prove it to you." Connor reached over, shuffling some of pictures until he found the ones he was looking for, "Look at this." He turned over Derek's mug shots, blue orbs surrounding almost his entire face because the flash affected his werewolf eyes.

"Faulty flash." Rachel shrugged, trying to look like the leather jacket didn't throw her off for a moment. It looked eerily familiar, but she pushed down the feeling because honestly, how many people owned leather jackets?

Connor let out a frustrated groan, "Rachel, I'm telling you, it's a werewolf. There are werewolves in Beacon Hills. And hunters! Like Kate!" Rachel eyed him, getting Connor to sigh and turn back to where he was working at the desk, "Look, I'll explain it all, okay?" Connor held up the notepad and Rachel stepped over to him as he sat back down in one of the chairs. Rachel followed suit, watching him doodle around the pad of paper, trying to fit everyone and everything as he began to explain.

A few minutes later, Connor sat back in his chair, dropping the pen to the table as he finished the last part of the spiderweb.

"And that's how it all connects." Connor finished, looking over at Rachel who was still intently studying the pad of paper.

"So the Hale family." Rachel started, pressing her pointer finger against the cluster of Hale names, "Is a family of werewolves who protected Beacon Hills until Kate came into town." Rachel dragged her finger down to Kate's name in the cluster of Argent names. Connor nodded as Rachel continued, "Kate, got together with Derek around the same time your sister was hurt." Rachel used her other hand to press against Leah's name, "Then, to try to help Leah, you went to Kate. You had been friends with Derek the whole time though, right?"

"Right." Connor nodded, seeing Rachel's knowing smirk begin to appear on her face, " _Just_ friends." He emphasized, getting an eye roll from Rachel. He shifted in his seat before continuing,"I was well aware of the werewolf situation." Connor motioned to the spiderweb, getting Rachel to nod and continue with connecting the dots,

"But instead of helping you, Kate set the whole Hale house on fire." Rachel continued, working her way back up the spiderweb, "Killing everyone except Derek, Laura and Peter." Rachel tapped on each of their names, "Peter was put into a hospital to recover while Derek and Laura disappeared after the fire…" Rachel trailed off, "You didn't check up on Peter?" She questioned, looking back at Connor. Connor shrugged and made a face, not saying anything. Rachel sighed and went back to notepad,

"Laura comes back to Beacon Hills a few years later because Peter sent her that picture of the deer, but she didn't know that it was from Peter." Rachel moved her fingers around the notepad, "So she's killed by Peter, Peter becomes the Alpha, who bites Scott." Rachel paused on Scott's name, "Who is best friends with your sister." Rachel finished, bringing her fingers together, "But Leah, she didn't know anything about werewolves before this?"

"No," Connor shook his head, sitting up in his seat, "Someone took away her memories of the attack and the Hales."

"Who?"

"No idea." Connor sighed out, rubbing his hand over his face. "Peter's the only one who knew who did it." Rachel screwed her mouth to the side and looked back at the notepad,

"And this Peter guy, he was killed right? By Derek?" Rachel pointed to Derek and Peter's names. Connor nodded. "But not before Peter killed Kate." Rachel brought her finger back to Kate's name, "Who's niece is Allison, who's dating Scott, who's your sister's best friend." Rachel dragged her finger along the lines, connecting all the dots. "Did I get all of that?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Connor sighed, sitting back in his seat, arms crossing over his chest.

"So who the fuck is Paige?" Rachel asked, pointing to Paige's name in the upper corner.

"Derek's high school girlfriend. He, uhm, well he killed her a few of weeks before Kate came to town." Rachel raised her eyebrows at Connor,

"Your best friend is not only a werewolf, but also a murderer." She plainly stated as if it wasn't already obvious.

"Thought you didn't believe in werewolves?" Connor ignored Rachel's remark, getting her to roll her eyes at him.

"I don't." She seriously said, looking back at him, "I believe in complicated rival families and drama they drag their kids into." She said, almost like she was speaking from experience, "But I don't believe in _werewolves_." Connor scoffed at her. "Physical proof, remember?"

"You want to see a werewolf." Connor plainly said, looking over at her to see she was serious looking.

"You said your best friend was one." Rachel reminded him, "Let's go meet your best friend." Rachel pulled up her shoulders as Connor heaved a sigh. He pushed out of his chair and Rachel went to go after him, grabbing the notepad and her new winter jacket, following Connor out of the motel room.

* * *

"…not her sister, her _aunt_." Leah picked her head up as she walked down the hall. She was headed for her locker, but slowed when she heard the whispers, "the one who murdered all those people." Leah looked to where there were two girls talking by the lockers, Julia and Marissa, two girls from Leah's class. They were looking at someone across the hall. Following their gaze, Leah's eyes landed on Allison at her locker, her head turned to the side as if she could hear the girls. And Leah was sure that Allison could, but the girls didn't stop talking,

"You mean the crazy bitch who killed all those people?" Julia asked, sounding appalled.

"Yeah, the fire, all those animal attacks—it was her _aunt_." Leah felt herself tense up as the girls talked about Allison's aunt, right in front of her. Her eyes darted from the girls to Allison as they continued talking shit about Kate as if Allison was her. Allison was becoming visibly upset and Leah could see her fidgeting. Even if the girls weren't speaking, Leah still felt like she needed to do _something_. Allison was her friend and people didn't talk shit about Leah's friends.

"Hey!" Leah called out, getting the attention of both girls, "Shut the fuck up, will ya?" Leah glared at them. Marissa pushed off the lockers, arms crossed over her chest,

"What? Are you _friends_ with her?" Marissa sneered out.

"Uh, yeah." Leah widened her eyes, placing her hands on her backpack straps, "Your point?"

"Her aunt killed all of those people—"

"And your brother got busted for some shady shit too, remember?" Leah cut her off, raising her eyebrows up, "I mean, _she's_ still friends with you even though that happened." Leah glanced pointedly at Julia. "Keep Allison's name out of your mouth." Leah stated, looking in between both girls, "Or I'll make sure you do." She threatened, narrowing her eyes at them. The girls exchanged a look before glancing at Leah one last time and then walking down the hall, away from Leah. Leah made a face at their retreating backs before glancing to where Allison had been standing.

Allison was nowhere to be seen and Leah turned around, trying to find where Allison had went off to, but there was no sign of her. Leah sighed and looked back to see the boy from her Psychology class closing his locker door, eyes on her. When he noticed Leah had caught him staring, he gave her a small smile and stepped towards her, camera in his hand.

"Uh, that was really nice of you." He complimented her, looking over his shoulder to where the girls had disappeared to.

"She's my friend. I stand up for my friends." Leah shrugged, brushing it off.

"Still. I know a lot of people are talking about her — about what happened."

"And I'll make sure they stop." Leah gave him a tight smile and went to move around him when he stopped her with his hand,

"You missed Psych today, do you…maybe want the notes?" He asked, raising his eyebrows. Leah eyed him as he went into his backpack to pull out a notebook, "Here." He handed it out to Leah, who carefully took it.

"Uh, thanks." She glanced down at the notebook, being reminded of his name.

"If you want, you could come over and go over them with me — or we could meet somewhere." Matt lamely backtracked, reaching out to her, "Not like a date or anything, just like studying. I know this stuff can be complicated."

"Actually, it's really not." Leah gave him another tight smile, "I'll get it back to you in the morning." Matt quickly nodded at her and stepped back from her,

"Oh, and she went that way." Matt motioned over Leah's shoulder, around the corner, "Allison."

"Got it. Thanks, Matt." Leah nodded, hands tight on his notebook. Another nod from Matt before he turned around and walked away from Leah, heading for the exit.

Letting her bag fall off of her one shoulder, Leah pulled it around to stuff Matt's notebook into her bag with her other notebooks. She looked down the hall as she zipped up the backpack, turning around to go in the direction that Matt pointed her in, only to see Allison walking around the didn't notice Leah as she walked into the girls' bathroom, the door slamming behind her. Leah went to go to the bathroom, but stopped when she noticed Scott walking down the hall. She did a double take before giving him a wry smile and a salute, figuring out that he was coming from the same place Allison did.

Pushing open the girls' bathroom door, Leah carefully peered her head in to see Allison at the sinks, staring at herself in the mirrors as she struggled with the zipper of her dress. She was in a black dress, her hair down and she looked awfully tired and pale. Her eyes flicked up to catch sight of Leah and Leah immediately felt like she was guilty until Allison gave her a small smile.

Neither one of them said anything as Leah walked up behind Allison, zipping up the back of her dress and swiping away the few loose hairs. They stared at each other in the mirror for a moment before Allison's hand came up to her shoulder and rest on top of where Leah's hand lay. It was a small gesture, but Leah found herself turning her hand over and squeezing Allison's hand gently and retuning the small smile on her face.

Whatever anger, resentment and disappointment the two held towards each other slowly faded within in those moments of silence. Neither of them had to say anything to understand that the other was sorry; they had apologized in their own ways — Allison had last night, Leah had during the day. They were back on the same side, ready to take on whatever came at them next, and hopefully become closer, better friends in the process.

Allison turned, stepping into Leah and wrapping her arms around her friend's shoulders, pulling her into a hug. Leah returned the hug, letting her arms go around Allison's waist as she looked at their reflection in the mirrors. She felt Allison's arms tighten for a split second before she stepped back, giving her an amused smile.

"You know I can defend myself, right?" Allison asked, hands going down to hold Leah's as she referred to Leah standing up for her in the hallway.

"Yeah and?" Leah asked, raising an eyebrow, "I've got your back." Leah tossed her hair over her shoulder.

"And I've got _your_ back." Allison emphasized, squeezing Leah's hands. Leah gave her a quick smile, looking away from her friend as Allison let go of Leah's hands. Gathering up her things, Allison gave one last small smile to Leah before walking out of the bathroom.

* * *

"Wow, okay, are you, uhm, serious?" Rachel asked as Connor parked the car. She took in their surroundings, noticing how empty and deserted and rather creepy it looked, "Are you kidnapping me? You do know that I won't go down without a fight." Rachel seriously said, looking back at Connor.

"I'm not kidnapping you." Connor rolled his eyes, "Or killing you." He cut her off before she had a chance to speak, "You wanted to see a werewolf right?" Rachel raised her eyebrows and looked back out the window.

"Your best friend lives in an abandoned subway station that where it looks like _multiple_ murders and drug deals have happened." Rachel stated.

"He doesn't _live here."_ Connor emphasized, "He just…hangs out here." Rachel eyed him for a moment,

"Sometimes I question why I'm friends with you." Rachel simply said, "You live in such a weird town with some really fucking weird people." She commented, pushing out of the car,

"Trust me, I'm aware." Connor sighed, going to follow Rachel. He jogged to catch up with her and fell into step next to her. Rachel continued to keep a wary eye out as Connor led her into the station, opening a door to a set of stairs that Rachel followed Connor down.

"Derek?" Connor called out, his voice echoing around the subway station. He jogged down the stairs, Rachel cautiously following behind him. The station was surprisingly brightly lit, looking just deserted rather than creepy _and_ deserted, which Rachel thought was a plus.

"Derek?" Connor asked out as he walked up to the subway car. He braced himself on the doorframe and looked into the car. Rachel stood a few feet away from him, by the stairs, just in case. She continued to look around, feeling herself get nervous as she heard Connor greet someone.

"Everything okay?" Rachel turned at the other man's voice, watching Connor step out of the subway car, looking over his shoulder.

"Oh, yeah, I just wanted to you to meet a friend of mine. Mostly to prove a point." Connor smirked, looking back at Rachel. But she wasn't paying attention to Connor, instead focusing on who had just stepped out of the subway car. Derek Hale. She tilted her head to the side, letting her mouth open a bit as Derek noticed her.

Rachel's mouth turned up in an amused smirk, watching as Derek looked from Rachel to Connor, coming to the same conclusion she had moments before. Unknown to Connor, Rachel and Derek had _already_ met. In a bar. And they had gotten to know each other quite biblically in a women's bathroom.

* * *

 _A/N: Questions, comments, concerns or cries of outrage?_


	3. Straight Out of a Movie

"You slept with him, didn't you." Connor stated, not looking over at Rachel, but knowing there was a proud smirk on her face,

" _Yup_." Rachel pushed her chin forward and looked to Connor, a grin on her face. Connor blew out a breath as Rachel shifted in the passenger seat of Connor's car.

The two of them had left Derek's new hiding place a few minutes after they had gotten there; one of Derek's new betas had come running down the stairs, yelling about how the bite had healed. From there, Connor was introduced to the new beta — Isaac Lahey, then Rachel was shown just how real werewolves were.

Rachel's reaction surprised everyone except for Connor. He expected her reaction, the studying eye, arms crossed over her chest as she examined the wolf man who stood before her almost like he was her patient. She got up close and personal, peering at Derek's fangs and then lifting up his hand and turning his fist over to expose his claws.

"Keep em to yourself next time." Rachel pointedly said with raised eyebrows. It was then that Connor slowly began to put the pieces together, especially after Derek shot a glance to him, trying to keep his smirk from appearing.

"Hey, question though," Rachel pulled Connor from his thoughts of what had happened down in the subway station. "Does having sex with a werewolf, you know, _do_ anything?"

"Uh, I have no idea." Connor seriously said, rolling his head around to look at Rachel. "Never had sex with a werewolf before." Rachel smirked at him and settled back in her seat. She waved her hand in the air,

"It was alright." She made a face, getting Connor to groan and tip his head back against the headrest,

"I do _not_ need to hear about this." He groaned out, hearing Rachel let out a small laugh, "Moving on…" Connor prompted. "Do you believe now?" Rachel dropped her hand and looked over to Connor, leaning back a bit,

"Alright, fine, you win." Rachel made a face and rolled her eyes. Connor picked his head up from the headrest.

"Say it." Connor seriously said. Rachel took in a breath and gave Connor an unamused look,

"I believe in werewolves."

Connor couldn't help the satisfied smirk that came over his face at Rachel's answer. He bobbed his head a little bit, reaching forward and starting up the car.

"So? What now?" Rachel asked, shifting in her seat.

"Whatta mean, _what now?"_ Connor repeated, making a U-turn so he could get back on the road. "There's nothing left. You know."

"Yeah and what am I supposed to do now?" Rachel pushed her chin out, "Can't really just _go back_ to Delaware."

"Uh, why not?" Connor asked, brows furrowing, "I gave you your answers." Connor glanced over to Rachel to see that an expression he was used to and knew only came around when she got an idea had appeared on her face, "Oh, no, no, you are _—_ "

"I'm staying." Rachel said with a tone that told Connor the conversation was over. She settled back in her seat with a proud smile on her face.

"And what exactly are you going to do?" Connor asked out, looking back at the road. Rachel made a face and shrugged,

"I will figure it out." She shot a winning smile to him, "I always do. And I always end up just fine."

* * *

"Yeah, I'm fine." Drew said over the phone as he walked away from the ambulance, "Noah's on his way."

" _Do you want me to—"_

"No." Drew quickly cut his wife off, "No, you aren't cleared to come back to work yet." Drew reminded her, "And I'm fine. It was…just a deer probably." Drew turned to look at the ambulance, knowing it wasn't a deer, but not wanting to worry Tara quite yet. "I'll call you with any updates."

" _Okay, okay. Love you."_

"Love you too." Drew instantly responded before hanging up with his wife.

Sighing, Drew shoved his phone into his pocket and stepped up to where his crew was standing around, theorizing about what could've possibly hit them. When the call came in about a heart attack victim, his team was the first to respond. It was a pretty basic call and Drew knew the rules and the way to go about it. Unfortunately they were too late, like they were sometimes. The guy was dead on arrival.

The job from there was to take him to the hospital to be ID'ed and then to contact family. Drew hated that part of his job, when they couldn't save the person. It was something that he learned to live with, but made him more protective of his family, never wanting to have to deal with what the victim's families had to deal with.

But while on their way, something slammed into the side of the ambulance, causing the rig to go spinning out. Drew managed to stop it from tipping over, but wasn't prepared for what had gone on in the back. The three of them hadn't been paying attention to the heart attack victim, or even what had been going on in the back — maybe if they were, they would've known exactly what didn't just _hit_ the rig, but _jump inside of it_.

Once everything settled, the three of them scrambled to get out of the rig, wanting to inspect it over and it was Val who discovered the mess that was left behind. There was blood _everywhere._ Even as a medic, Drew had never seen that much blood in his life. The heart attack victim looked like he had been torn apart, like something had attacked him and then disappeared.

"Great first night back, huh?" Val asked, looking at Drew. Drew raised his eyebrows and sighed,

"Technically not even back yet." Drew reminded her that he was only filling in for person who was supposed to be filling in for him.

"Whatta think it was?" Tom, one of the new guys, asked, leaning forward.

"Some kind of animal, probably." Drew made a face and shrugged. The other two went back to discussing their theories as Drew looked into the forest, wondering what _kind_ of animal would do something so precise and horrible at the same time.

* * *

"Hey, uhm," Stiles cleared his throat, looking back at Scott, "Have you seen Leah?"

Scott and Stiles were trekking through the woods, following the scent Scott had picked up after they had heard about the disturbance in an ambulance. Stiles figured it was Lydia and Scott almost immediately picked up her scent once they got to the woods. Scott had texted Leah about what was going on, but had yet to hear a response back.

"I mean, she hasn't texted me back," Scott glanced at his phone again to make sure he didn't miss anything before shoving it in his pocket, "But yeah, earlier, I did," Scott met Stiles's look, "Talked to her today at lunch." Stiles raised his eyebrows and made a face, nodding a bit,

"And she seemed…totally fine, right?" Stiles asked, lifting his shoulders off as he tried to play it cool.

"Yeah I guess." Scott furrowed his brow, "Asked me about Lydia, but that was it." Stiles nodded again and looked away from his friend. Scott watched him look down at the ground, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets as they walked through the forest.

"Anything else come up?" Stiles nonchalantly asked. Scott didn't immediately respond, getting Stiles to look over at him, "I mean like, about last night. Does she remember anything?"

"She didn't really talk about it." Scott made a face and looked away for a moment, "Have you talked to her?" Scott carefully asked, brows furrowing.

"Bout what?" Stiles responded, running a hand over his head before glancing back at Scott. Scott raised his eyebrows and stopped walking, getting Stiles to turn to look at him,

"About Friday night? You know when you drove her home and tried to tell her you liked her." Scott plainly called his best friend out. Stiles did a double take as he looked at Scott before pulling a face,

"Psh, please." Stiles scoffed, "I don't like Barbie." Scott rolled his eyes, and continued to walk away from Stiles, getting Stiles to catch up with him, "What? I don't!" Stiles defended himself, "There's—She's—I…" Stiles trailed off, giving up, "Fuck you, man." Stiles settled on, getting a light laugh from Scott, "How'd you even figure it out?"

"Werewolf, remember?" Scott raised his eyebrows at him, "It just started happening. Like your heartbeat would pick up and stuff like that whenever you'd see her." Scott shrugged at Stiles and Stiles rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well, it's pretty clear that she's no longer feeling the same because she hasn't said a thing." Stiles kicked at a rock.

"I don't think her feelings would just magically go away." Scott shook his head, not wanting to share what Leah had said earlier in the day, but wanting to push both of them closer and try and get them to admit their feelings for each other.

"Yeah, maybe." Stiles was unconvinced. He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked around the forest, halfheartedly searching for Lydia but mainly focusing on his past interactions with Leah.

"Dude, just tell her." Scott advised, "It's better that she knows." Stiles looked at him, screwing his mouth to the side and nodding. "Look," Scott hit Stiles's arm, "There they are." Stiles looked to the side to see the ambulance lights bouncing off the trees. The two of them quickly ducked behind a rather large boulder, peering over the top to get a better look at the scene.

Scott immediately noticed Leah's dad and hoped that he couldn't see him and Stiles. There were a few open spaces between the trees and the lights from the ambulance was making it easier to see in the otherwise dark forest.

"What the hell is Lydia doing?" Stiles whispered out, staring at the ambulance from his position next to Scott.

"I don't know." Scott looked away from the ambulance and met his best friend's worried gaze,

"What kept you from doing that, was it Allison?"

"I hope so." Scott sighed as Stiles returned his attention to the ambulance,

"Do you need to get closer?" Stiles was referring to Lydia's scent, but it was still pretty fresh in Scott's memory. He caught her scent while they were walking towards what happened to the ambulance. Her scent was mixed with the same animalistic smell that Derek and Peter's were — the scent of a werewolf. Scott figured it meant that she was a werewolf now.

"No, I got it." Scott shook his head and watched as Stiles became increasingly worried, chewing on his bottom lip and picking at the boulder.

"Just—just find her." Stiles looked away from the ambulance, meeting Scott's gaze, "All right?"

"I will." Scott promised, nodding seriously before getting up and stealthily following the scent deeper into the woods. Stiles took in a deep breath and nodded, looking back to the clearing. He spotted Leah's dad walk up to meet his dad's car and Stiles's thoughts turned to Leah, wondering where she was.

Letting his mind wander, Stiles began to think about what would happen if he actually did tell Leah about his feelings. He tried to picture himself in a relationship with her, being with her and he couldn't help but smile at the thought of holding her hand in the hallway or kissing her in the Jeep, teasing her, getting her to laugh at him…it all felt so within his reach — all he had to do was just tell her.

* * *

"So you told him." Allison stated as Leah got off of the bed, walking over to the desk where she had plugged in her phone.

The girls were in Leah's room — Allison had texted Leah after the funeral was over asking if she could come over, Leah immediately responded that Allison was more than welcome to. They had been catching each other up as to the going ons from the past few days. Allison told Leah about her grandfather's reappearance, along with the family of back up hunters that had come along and were integrating into the town of Beacon Hills, plus her secret hook ups with Scott. Leah was in the middle of telling Allison about her situation with Stiles — after telling her about her aunt's arrival and the newest member of the Kane family.

"I guess." Leah sighed, not mentioning her memory loss, "But he hasn't said anything since!" Leah looked over to Allison, waving her hands around.

"Have you tried talking to him again?" Allison kicked her feet up in the air as Leah chewed on her bottom lip.

"No." Leah mumbled, sounding guilty as she picked up her phone. She hadn't looked at it all night, wanting to spend some time with Allison since they hadn't really spoken since formal. It felt nice to talk to her again and Leah hoped their friendship would become stronger since there were practically no more secrets between the two.

Allison rolled her eyes at Leah as she rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling, " _Leah_." She groaned out,

"Hey! I told him, okay?" Leah pointed at her, "I did exactly what you wanted me to." She unlocked her phone as Allison rolled back onto her stomach.

"Yeah, I guess, but I mean, I…I mentioned it to him last night and he—"

"Oh my God." Leah cut Allison off, looking at her missed texts, "Sorry." She looked back up at Allison as Allison's brow furrowed.

"What is it?" Allison pushed herself up as Leah pulled her phone from the charger. She walked back over to the bed, climbing on it and angling her phone so Allison could see the texts from Scott.

"They think Lydia had something to do with an ambulance attack." Leah paraphrased Scott's first text,

"He's going to track down Lydia while Stiles stays at the scene." Allison continued as her phone chimed. She glanced at it and saw that Stiles's had texted her, "Oh hey." Allison showed her phone to Leah, displaying Stiles's text, "He found her."

"Taking her to the hospital now." Leah finished. She looked up to meet Allison's eyes,

"We should go."

"Ugh, okay." Leah groaned and rolled over, moving to get off the bed. Allison did the same, grabbing her jacket from the chair as Leah grabbed Allison's hat and gloves from her dresser.

"Here." Leah returned the hat and gloves, getting a grateful smile from Allison before the two of them walked out of Leah's bedroom, headed for the hospital.

* * *

The hospital doors slid open as Stiles stepped out, tapping at his phone — he still hadn't heard back from Scott after texting him that Lydia was found. Stiles raised his eyebrows at the memory of seeing her walking — completely naked, out of the woods. It was like something out of his dreams, but it was obvious she had no idea how she had gotten there and Stiles just felt lucky they had been there at that moment to save her.

"Stiles!" He looked up at the sound of Allison's voice, seeing her and Leah get out of their respective cars. Well, Leah got out of her mom's car, but still. Stiles felt his stomach worms start wiggling around at the sight of Leah walking towards him.

"What happened?" Allison got his attention, making him look away from Leah. Stiles blinked and remembered that he had texted Allison about Lydia.

"Oh, yeah, she's okay." Stiles bobbed his head in a nod, stealing a glance at Leah, "She's on the same floor she was for the weekend if you want to see her." Stiles thumbed behind him and Allison nodded. She gave a smile to Leah, placing a hand on her arm before walking past the two of them and heading into the hospital.

"You two friends again?" Stiles asked after Allison disappeared into the hospital. Leah raised her eyebrows, wrapping her arms around her middle.

"Uh, working on it." She nodded, "We were just hanging out after the funeral." She added on as an explanation as to why they were together.

"Ah." Stiles lifted his chin and nodded slightly.

The two fell into a rather awkward silence — Leah looked around herself while Stiles looked back at his phone. Both of them had things they wanted to say, but neither one of them knew how to start. So they stood there. In silence. They glanced back at each other after a moment, sharing tight smiles, obviously both a little uncomfortable.

"So," Leah started, rocking back on her heels.

"Yeah…" Stiles trailed off, not really knowing how to start. Leah rolled her lips in and swallowed before dropping her arms from her body.

"I should, probably go." She motioned over her shoulder, "Are you gonna stay?"

"Uh, yeah." Stiles nodded, "I mean, she's fine, but just…wanna make sure." Leah nodded.

"No, uh, signs of werewolfness?"

"Not that I can tell." Stiles quickly raised his eyebrows then lowered them, "But, uh, I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

"Okay, well, I only came here because of Allison, so…" Leah trailed off, blowing out a breath. "I'll see ya, Coleslaw." Her nickname for Stiles made something stir inside of him and he watched as she turned away from him, not being able to stop the small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

So, Stiles acted on instinct, wanting to stop Leah, wanting to tell her — _finally_ tell her about his feelings. After his conversation with Scott, where he realized there was a possibility that Leah could still like him even after her black out, he wanted to move forward. He just needed a kick in the ass and them finding Lydia was exactly what he needed; it was so easy for it all to go away and for her to disappear again. So he acted.

Reaching out, Stiles grabbed Leah's arm, pulling her back to him. But he pulled too hard and too quickly, causing Leah to turn and stumble into his chest, her hand going to catch herself against his chest. Her green eyes met his, a sarcastic remark already forming, as Stiles let his head drop a bit so her face was mere centimeters from his. Stiles let his tongue dart out to lick his lips, feeling them tingle a bit at the sight of her eyes shifting down to watch the movement. His heart hammering against his chest filled his ears and Stiles did the first thing that came to mind, surging forward and pressing his lips against Leah's.

Back curving ever so slightly so that Leah didn't have to stretch to meet him, Stiles trailed his hand down to settle at her hip, deepening the kiss as he pulled her closer to his body. There was a moment of panic as Leah didn't respond, but it dissipated as Leah hesitantly kissed him back.

But her response only lasted for a moment; for as quickly as she responded, she was just as quick to pull back, breaking away from Stiles. Opening his eyes — Stiles didn't even realize his eyes were closed, he was met with Leah's wide eyes looking back at him, surprised and confused before she clapped her hand over her mouth. Quickly, she spun around and practically bolted to her car before Stiles had the chance to say anything.

On autopilot, Leah drove towards her house, her head all about spinning as she tried to figure out what the fuck had just happened. She couldn't make sense of it, how it started and how it ended, the whys of it all. Stiles had just _kissed_ her — willingly, soberly, and it was pretty _passionate_. Leah didn't know how she should even begin to react. So she ran away.

* * *

Scott's bedroom door was suddenly thrown open, startling him even though he knew Leah was coming. It was just _how_ she entered that made him jump a bit, and he immediately went into panic mode at the sight of her — she was out of breath, eyes bright and wild, her face bright red.

"Wha—"

"Stiles kissed me!" Leah cut him off, voice an octave higher than it normally was. She noticed and looked down, trying to control herself, "Stiles kissed me." She said, voice deeper.

"What? When? How? Why?" Scott quickly asked out, getting up from his chair. Leah took in a deep breath and shoved her hand through her hair,

"I don't know! He just—he just did it!" She cried out, beginning to pace in front of Scott, "He stopped me from walking away, pulled me back and then kissed me!" She exclaimed, moving her hands around as she talked. "Oh my God, it was like straight out of a movie, Scott!"

"Did you kiss him back?" Scott asked, hand going out almost as if to stop her from pacing.

"Wha—yes, I mean, I think so." Leah blinked furiously, rewinding the past few minutes in her head, "Yeah, yeah I kissed him back—"

"Dude!" Scott and Leah both looked to the door as Stiles's voice came up the stairs, followed by his hurried steps, "I kissed her, dude! I fucking _kissed_ her and she ran away!" Stiles was yelling out. Leah shot a panicked look to Scott and went for the window only to have Scott stop her. Leah pushed against his hold, even though it was no use; she was no match against Scott's werewolf strength.

"What does that even—what do I even do!?" Stiles was getting closer to the bedroom and Scott practically lifted Leah off of the bed, setting her on the floor and letting her brush herself off.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Leah fix her hair and straighten out her shirt, obviously nervous at the fact that Stiles was three steps from bursting into the room. If it was any other time, Scott would've laughed at how ridiculous she was acting — he even felt the corner of his mouth quirk up in a slight smirk. She sat down on the bed, only to suddenly get up when Stiles came through the door. He abruptly stopped babbling at the sight of Leah and looked from her to Scott then back to her.

"You're here." He settled on, not really knowing what to say to Leah. She looked half embarrassed, half nervous and Stiles wasn't sure what he was feeling. Or even how to proceed; she had obviously heard his semi-rant as he came up the stairs.

"I am, yep." Leah nodded, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked down at her feet, "And so are you." She added as an afterthought, looking up to him and motioning a bit.

"Yeah, yep." Stiles bobbed his head and looked to Scott, silently begging his best friend to step in and say something, anything.

"So you two kissed." Scott suddenly said, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. Stiles's eyebrows raised and he looked back to see Leah looking at the ceiling, really anywhere but back to Stiles, "Again." Scott added on as an afterthought. "…I guess I should leave you two to…talk this out?" Scott sounded unsure, going to leave, only to have Leah reach out and stop him,

"Don't." She quietly said, eyes still looking everywhere but Stiles. Scott faltered and looked back to Stiles, silently urging him to say something. Stiles made a face, shoving his hands into his pockets and shrugging,

"Well, ah, maybe—I mean, I would sure love to hear _why_ —this happened." Scott managed out, feeling semi-trapped. He raised his eyebrows at Stiles, giving him a look to start talking. Stiles made a face, right back before his eyes darted over to Leah. Scott knew they would just stand in silence if one of them didn't urge the other along and it seemed they had volunteered Scott. Getting Stiles and Leah to admit they liked each other was like pulling teeth, but Scott knew it was just because of how they were.

Letting out a huff, Stiles looked back at Leah, "I just…wanted to, I guess." He settled on, not really knowing if he was ready to admit his crush to his crush.

"Why?" Leah asked, brow furrowing, "You weren't very happy the last time it happened."

"I wasn't _not_ happy." Stiles immediately defended himself, "I was just…surprised…and confused." Leah raised her eyebrows and looked away from him. Stiles looked to Scott and Scott gave him a shrug, motioning with his hand to continue. Stiles took in a breath and looked back at Leah,

"I know you have a crush on me." He quickly said, getting Leah's head to snap back and glare at him.

"I do _not_ have a crush on you." Leah immediately responded, "Who the fuck told you that?" She looked to Scott, who put his hands up and then she looked back to Stiles, "I don't—that's—that's the stupidest thing you've ever said—you're—" She scoffed, "You sure do think highly of yourself, don't you, _Coleslaw_." She sneered, "Like I would _ever_ like you like tha—"

"Well, maybe I—I like you like that too!" Stiles cut her off, raising his shoulders up and motioning with his hand. He swallowed and Scott quickly looked away from Stiles, wanting to see Leah's reaction. He watched as Leah raised her eyebrows at Stiles's confession.

"Are you serious? Is he serious?" She asked within the same breath, looking to Scott. Scott took in a breath and nodded, just wanting the two of them to admit that they liked each other and move forward. "Oh—my God." Leah managed out, blinking a bit, "I, uhm, okay…" She moved to walk past Stiles, heading out of Scott's bedroom.

Stiles turned to watch her go before looking back at Scott, who made his eyes wide and motioned that Stiles should follow her. Bobbing his head in a nod, Stiles waved his finger at Scott before heading out after Leah.

Wrapping her arms around herself, Leah walked across the grass that separated her house from Scott's. She couldn't believe what Stiles had just told her and a part of her didn't believe it. That Stiles liked her back — possibly. There was no way. It had to be some sort of trick.

"Leah!" Leah heard Stiles's voice as she pushed open the gate to the back of her house, "Leah, would just let me—"

"Is it true?" Leah cut him off, spinning around to watch him push past the gate and follow her, "Do you seriously like me?" She asked, eyebrows raising. Stiles licked his lips and swallowed before nodding.

"Yeah, I mean, sorta why I kissed you." He laughed a little, going to scratch the back of his head, "I don't know, I just—I like you, okay?" He shrugged, "Sue me." Leah eyed him and continued to walk backwards, away from him,

"And you know that I …like you." She slowly said, "Because I told you, right?"

"Right." Stiles nodded, stepping forward to keep up with her,

"So why didn't you say something sooner?"

"Because I didn't know how." Stiles dug his hand into his pocket, pulling out his phone, "Here, I have about ten drafts of texts that I wanted to send to you but they all felt so…stupid." Stiles sighed, raising his eyebrows a bit as he tapped at his phone. Leah watched him hold his phone out to her and she carefully took it, scrolling through his unsent messages to her. All of them had the same message just written different ways. All of them mentioned her admittance of her crush and all of them mentioned how he had a crush on her too. Leah licked her lips and handed Stiles his phone back, seeing that he looked expectant.

"I don't know what to do next." Leah admitted laughing a bit, "I mean, I've never—I don't know—are we just suddenly in a relationship?" She asked, raising her shoulders up. Stiles pulled the corners of his mouth down and placed his hands on his hips,

"I mean, I've never—I don't, yeah I guess." He paused, "It makes sense, right? You like me, _I_ like you." He motioned to the space between them, "That's what people do, yeah?"

"Yeah." Leah nodded, crossing her arms over her chest as she nodded, "Yeah, I guess." She looked away from Stiles, "I just…don't want anything to change." She said, glancing back to Stiles.

"After everything drastically changing in our lives, _this_ is what you're worried about changing? Our relationship status?" Stiles rolled forward on his toes, sounding amused. Leah rolled her eyes,

"You know what I mean." She reached out to hit him, "I just don't want us to change just because we get into a relationship."

"Well, we won't." Stiles shrugged, "We'll still be us, just with more of…you know, whatever couples do together." Stiles motioned to her. Leah eyed him and took in a breath.

"Okay, yeah." She nodded, letting her arms drop as Stiles stepped up to her. He placed his hands on her shoulders and leaned forward a bit so he was eye to eye with Leah.

"I'm just as inexperienced in this department as you are." Stiles reminded her, eyebrows raised. Leah made a face and glanced away from him, knowing it wasn't really true, but she didn't respond, "So we'll just…take it slow." He frowned and looked above her head for a moment, "I mean, not _super_ slow." He grinned back down at her. Leah kept quiet, it was the quietest Stiles had ever seen her been in a while, "I think this is the part where we kiss again." He joked, trying to get her to laugh but instead Leah rolled her eyes.

"I remember you saying something about how I shouldn't ever kiss you again." Leah pointed out, reminding him of their time in Scott's hallway all those weeks ago.

"Ah, but _I_ can kiss _you_. Important distinction." Stiles raised a finger, "And besides, when do you ever listen to what I say?" He asked, making a face.

"True." Leah smirked at him before reaching up and tugging Stiles's head down so she could press her mouth against his. She kissed him, feeling him immediately respond, his nose brushing against hers as he moved his head a bit. Leah pulled back a bit to take in a quick breath before going back to kiss him again.

It was a weird sensation, to be kissing Stiles. Leah had done it before — two times before, but this time it just felt different. She was noticing things: how his lips felt, how he tasted, how his teeth clicked against hers a bit, and how he moved around to try and fit perfectly between her lips. Leah had to admit that she was actually beginning to like kissing Stiles, finding herself smile against his kisses. Her hand moved from the back of his head and she moved her arms around his waist, feeling his hands settle on her hips. Being able to kiss each other would take some getting used to, but it definitely wasn't something they were opposed to.

Suddenly the back porch lights turned on, startling them both. Stiles reacted on instinct and quickly pushed Leah away from him, making her yelp. He didn't realize how close they were to the Kane's pool and Leah tried to keep her balance, but Stiles shoved her a little too hard and she went tumbling back, falling in the pool with a splash.

"Oh my God." Stiles heard a woman's voice say as Leah fell into the pool. Stiles's head whipped over at the sound of the splash, forgetting about the woman's voice as he saw Leah struggle in the water. That's when he remembered the time Leah told the boys she never learned how to swim — something that Stiles had made fun of her for in the moment, but now he realized the consequences of what he had done.

"Oh shit." Stiles mumbled out as Leah thrashed in the pool. Quickly jumping in, Stiles landed ungracefully in the pool next to Leah, grabbing her as she kicked against him. His feet brushed the bottom of the pool and Stiles paused, realizing he could stand in the water — it wasn't as deep as he thought.

"Hey! Hey!" Stiles tried to get Leah's attention as she went back under. He pulled her up and turned her so she was facing him, eyes wide with fear, "You can stand here! You—stop—" Stiles flinched back from her splashing, "You can stand here, you idiot!" Stiles yelled at her, shaking her shoulders. "It's the shallow end!"

Stiles watched her brow furrow as she slowly stopped freaking out, beginning to bob a bit as Stiles had a grip on her. Then he watched her pause as the tip of her toes brushed against the floor of the pool. She was holding onto Stiles's arms as she dropped down so her feet were flat against the bottom.

"Barely." She mumbled out, water spewing out from where her mouth was. Leah had to lift her chin up so she could breathe. Stiles pushed both of them to the shallow end, making it so Leah's head was fully out of water when she stood flat on her feet.

Glaring at Stiles, she spun around on her toe and slowly walked away from him, pushing against the water. Stiles kicked off the the bottom of the pool and swam over to the side of the pool, hoisting himself up and reaching down to help Leah up as she slowly got to him. Leah pursed her lips and ignored his hand as she awkwardly and ungracefully pulled herself out of the pool.

"God, I'm sorry, okay?" Stiles asked as he pushed out of his crouch, "I didn't do it on purpose!" Leah crossed her arms over her chest and walked away from him, getting Stiles to follow her. He glanced over to see the woman standing at the door to the kitchen. Stiles did a double take; she looked familiar, but Stiles couldn't place where he had seen her before. He felt like she just looked like someone he knew, but Stiles was unsure of who she reminded him of. He looked back to Leah, ready to explain himself,

"She scared me!" Stiles motioned to the woman, ignoring the fact that he was shivering. Leah's teeth were chattering as she went to the cabinet by the pool to grab two towels, hurling one at Stiles.

"So your automatic reaction was to shove me in the pool?!" She cried out.

"Okay, yeah, bad move on my part." Stiles took a step towards her, raising his hand up, "I wasn't thinking."

"Obviously, since you almost _drowned_ _me_." Leah grumbled as she went about wrapping herself up in the towel. Stiles glanced down then back at Leah, swallowing the lump in his throat. They weren't even two minutes into their relationship and they were already fighting.

"I'm sorry, okay?" Stiles quietly said. Leah paused at drying herself off and eyed Stiles, seeing that he did look apologetic. She took in a breath, eyes darting away from him,

"It's fine." She managed out.

"Are you okay?" Stiles asked, reaching out to her. He was half expecting Leah to shy away from his touch but was pleasantly surprised when she actually leaned into it.

"More freaked out than hurt." Leah admitted, raising her eyebrows quickly. She gave Stiles a small, embarrassed smile that Stiles returned with his own apologetic one.

"Hey! Get in here before icicles start forming off your noses!" Stiles turned to see the woman calling out to them. He looked back at Leah, eyebrows raised,

"Uh, that's my aunt."

" _That's_ your aunt?" Stiles asked, surprised. Leah made a face and nodded, walking past him and letting Stiles follow her.

"Told you he was your boyfriend." Stella whispered to Leah as she walked past her aunt. Leah rolled her eyes but couldn't help the small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

* * *

 _A/N: Any questions, comments, concerns or cries of outrage?_


	4. Officially Official

As the door opened, Allison turned, a happy smile gracing her features as she saw Leah on the other side, "Hi!" She greeted her friend, getting a smile from Leah.

"Hey." Leah stepped back, letting Allison walk into her house.

"Am I late?" Allison asked, brow furrowing as she looked around the foyer.

"Oh, god no, everyone's in the kitchen making sure my mom doesn't burn the house down." Leah made her eyes wide as Allison let out a little laugh.

"Oh, here. I stopped at the store and picked up these." Allison held out the container of iced sugar cookies she brought. "Probably not as good as yours, but…" Allison trailed off, ending with a shrug.

"Uh, no these are my favorite thing." Leah took the container as Allison let her backpack drop off of her shoulders, "Why did you bring your backpack?" Leah asked, tilting her head to the side as Allison took off her coat.

"Because I told my dad we were studying." Allison explained, "Don't worry, he doesn't know where you live though." Allison was quick to point out. Leah raised her eyebrows and made a face,

"Right cause I live next door to the werewolf boyfriend you aren't supposed to be seeing." Leah reminded herself.

"Is he here yet?" Allison asked, looking hopeful.

"Uh, no. But he will be soon." Leah gave her an encouraging smile, "Come on." She motioned with her head and started walking away from Allison, letting her follow.

Leah had invited Allison over to the First Friday Dinner that was actually being held on a Tuesday since so much was happening during the month that involved both the Stilinskis and Kanes, for different reasons. But it ended up being more than just the Stilinskis and Kanes — Leah had extended the invitation to both Allison and Scott so that they could spend some time together, and then Connor had invited Rachel over since it was clear that she would be staying in town longer than originally anticipated.

"Oh, Lydia's coming back to school tomorrow." Allison mentioned, getting Leah to raise her eyebrows, "Apparently she doesn't remember anything about her walk in the woods."

"Where she was naked." Leah stated, getting a nod from Allison. Allison shoved her hands into the back pockets of her jeans and twisted her hips to the side,

"Please don't—"

"I won't. I won't say anything." Leah cut Allison off, "Trust me, I don't even want to talk to her."

"You're the one who saved her that night." Allison reminded her, getting Leah to roll her eyes.

"Never gonna let that go, huh?" Leah got an amused smile from Allison as the girls walked into the kitchen, "Hey! Allison's here!" Leah looked to where her mom and Stella were in the kitchen, getting their attention, "And she brought cookies."

"Oh!" Tara looked up from where she was carefully cutting something. She placed the knife down and went around the island to gather Allison up in a hug, "It's so good to see you, sweetheart." Tara said, tightly hugging Allison, "You holding up okay?" She asked, stepping back from Allison. Leah watched Allison's features shift slightly at the mention of what had been going on and Allison managed a nod.

"Yeah, yeah I'm okay." Allison gave Tara a small smile, causing Tara to pull Allison back into her chest in a hug, hand on the back of her head as she comforted Allison.

"If you need anything at all, you don't hesitate to let me know, okay?" Tara asked, letting Allison go. Allison nodded, eyes darting to Leah before looking back at Tara,

"Thank you." Allison gave Tara another small smile. Tara had her hands on Allison's shoulders and rubbed her thumbs against them, giving her a comforting smile.

"Hey, Mom." Leah got Tara's attention, Stella glancing over to where Leah had gone to stand at the end of the island, "You're doing great in the kitchen and all so I feel like we should quit while we're ahead." Leah gave her mom an amused smile as Tara rolled her eyes.

"You set something on fire once—!"

"Three times."

"And you're banned from the kitchen." Tara looked to Allison, who tried not to smile at the family joke.

"You're not _banned_ , it's just _advised_ that you limit your time and stick to things like breakfast sandwiches and cereal." Leah explained herself, sharing an amused smile with Stella.

"Okay, okay!" Tara raised her hands up in the air, waving them around before going to tighten her cardigan around herself, "You know one day I'll be dead and you're gonna miss me." Tara pointed at Leah, who let out a sigh and rolled her eyes; that was her mom's go to threat. Tara grinned at Leah before looking back to Allison,

"Make yourself at home, but be very careful in the kitchen." Tara warned. Allison put her hands up and made a face,

"I will be."

Tara gave the girls an amused smile before turning away and walking out of the kitchen. Stella set down what she was working on and turned to Leah,

"I am going to get a beer." She announced, "I think you two can handle this." She gave the girls warm smiles before walking away from Leah and out the kitchen door to the porch. Allison returned the smile as Leah walked around the island, picking up the knife and going about finishing up what her mom and aunt were doing.

"Sorry, who was that again?" Allison asked after the door closed.

"Oh that was my aunt Stella." Leah glanced up at Allison, "Shit I totally didn't introduce you." She realized as Allison stepped around the island, settling next to Leah.

"S'okay. We have all night." Allison grinned at her and Leah made a face in agreement, "But she looks familiar. Does she live in town?"

"Ah, no." Leah shook her head, "I mean, now she does, but her motto was always _I go where the wind takes me_. So I don't think she has like a permanent home." Leah shrugged. Allison nodded and let Leah direct her as to what to do with what was in front of her.

As Leah talked, Allison looked over her shoulder and out the window over the sink, seeing where Stella was laughing at something Leah's dad said, beer in hand. Allison didn't know what it was about the woman, but she looked so familiar and an uneasy feeling settled in her stomach as she looked at Leah's aunt.

The porch door opened and Allison pulled her gaze from the window to the door to see Connor stepping through with an unfamiliar Latina woman behind him. Connor raised his eyebrows at the sight of Allison and Allison quickly looked down and away — part of her embarrassed for staring and part of her remembering that the last time she saw Leah's brother, she had shot him with an arrow.

"Smells a lot better now that mom's out of here." Connor commented as he walked around the island. Leah glanced up and shot him a grin. "This is Rachel, by the way." Connor motioned to where Rachel stood, arms crossed over her chest, a beer in hand, as she studied the girls, "Ray, this is my sister, Leah and her friend, Allison." Connor motioned to Leah and then Allison.

"Allison Argent." Rachel stated, nodding thoughtfully as Allison's brow furrowed, "The hunter girl who's dating your werewolf best friend." She pointed at Leah, who matched Allison's confused expression, "Who also shot you, right?" Rachel turned to point at Connor. Connor raised his eyebrows and reach up to rub at the back of his neck as Allison and Leah shared a look. Leah quickly looked to the living room seeing that her mom was out of ear shot — not paying attention to those in the kitchen,

"How the fuck—?"

"I told her." Connor cut his sister off. Leah pulled down the corners of her mouth and tilted her head to the side,

"Alright, cool, why?"

"Because I wanted to." Connor said as if were the most obvious thing in the world, "Jesus, I don't need to have a reason." Leah raised her hands up,

"Alright, jeez."

"Since your aunt's death," He looked to Allison, "brought in a whole new bunch of hunters and Derek's out there turning people, I think we could use all the help we could get." Connor stated looking back to Leah. Leah raised her eyebrows and nodded, glancing back over to Rachel.

"Uh, dinner should be ready soon." Leah looked back to Connor, figuring she would deal with Rachel later on. He nodded and looked back to Rachel, who raised her eyebrows at him before stepping up to him.

"Hey, Connor." Allison got Connor's attention, "Uh, I just wanted to apologize for," She swallowed, "Shooting you with an arrow." She whispered out, eyes darting to Connor's shoulder. Connor resisted touching where Allison was looking, but he nodded at her, not saying anything before he turned and walked into the living room with Rachel.

"He hates me, doesn't he?" Allison slumped down and looked to Leah.

"I mean you _did_ shoot him with an arrow." Leah pointed out, raising her eyebrows as Allison chewed on her bottom lip.

* * *

At the sound of the front door opening, Leah and Allison looked over their shoulders, both trying to see who entered. They had finished in the kitchen and were sitting on the barstools talking about random things, staying on normal topics since Tara, Stella and Drew filtered in and out of the kitchen getting various things ready.

"Scott!" Tara grinned at Leah's best friend, welcoming him with open arms.

"Hi, Mrs. Kane." Scott politely said, giving his best friend's mom a warm smile. He stepped into her hug, leaning down slightly to accommodate as Tara rocked them a little bit.

"I am so sorry we're late." Melissa blew out a breath as she stepped in after her son. Tara let go of Scott and waved off Melissa's apology.

"Oh please, we're still getting everything set up." Tara reached out to hug her friend for a moment before she stepped back,

"Well, you look great." Melissa complimented Tara, "Doing okay?"

"Should be cleared to get back to work in the next few days." Tara nodded, glancing over Melissa to catch sight of the sheriff and Stiles walking up together. "Hey, speak of the devil." Tara grinned at the sheriff and Stiles. "Stiles, hi, honey." Melissa stepped to the side as Stiles walked into the foyer, letting Tara embrace him for a second.

"Hi, Tara." Stiles responded, hugging her back for a quick second before stepping over to where Scott was, giving him a head nod.

"Here, this is for you and Drew for later." The sheriff said, holding up a bottle of wine. "As a congrats and a thank you for having us." Tara gave Noah an amused smile before taking the wine bottle.

"Scott, honey, why don't you go put this in the kitchen." Melissa directed, handing over a tray of something she brought.

"Is that—?" Tara pointed at the foil covered tray with a knowing smile,

"Oh, of course." Melissa nodded, grinning at her friend. Tara let out a little excited noise before reaching up to quickly hug Noah.

"The girls are in the kitchen." Tara motioned to the boys, "Help yourselves to whatever's out, dinner'll be ready soon." The boys looked at each other before nodding and walking away from their respective parents, walking into the living room and giving Connor a nod hello before moving for the kitchen.

"My mom said Lydia's all cleared to come back to school tomorrow." Scott mentioned to Stiles. Stiles raised his eyebrows and nodded,

"And the bite?"

"It's healing." Scott nodded, "She's not a werewolf though." Scott said, lowering his voice a bit just in case. Stiles took in a breath and looked away from Scott, eyes darting over to see Leah perched on the stool next to Allison.

"Hey." Scott said as the two of them got to the girls. Scott gave Leah a quick hug before exchanging a happy, warm smile with Allison. Leah rolled her eyes and kicked her foot out to hit Allison's stool,

"Go." She urged, "Get some alone time before dinner." Allison blushed and looked down at her feet as Scott glanced over at Leah.

"Your room okay?" Scott asked, looking hopeful.

"Have sex on my bed and I'll kill you." Leah warned, squinting at her friend and pointing at him.

"Trust me, we won't have enough time." Scott offhandedly said, getting Leah to raise her eyebrows and look to Allison with a laugh,

"Oh, wow, okay!" Leah said, Stiles groaning as Allison tried not to smile.

"C'mon." Scott reached out for Allison, who took his hand and slipped off the stool. Leah watched the two of them walk down the hall and into the dining room so they could get to the stairs without having to walk through the adults in the living room.

Then, it was just Stiles and Leah in the kitchen. Leah twisted her stool chair around in semi circles as she glanced at Stiles. Stiles pulled his gaze from the hallway and looked back at Leah,

"They're totally gonna have sex on your bed." He simply said. Leah made a disgusted face, scrunching up her features as Stiles got on the stool opposite of hers.

"Why did you have to say that?" Leah groaned out, getting a shrug from Stiles.

"I'd just wash my sheets if I were you." Leah let out a deep sigh and glanced away from Stiles as a silence fell over the two.

The two hadn't really talked since the night of the kiss/admittance of feelings — after they had gotten out of the pool. Stiles had ended up going home while Leah dried herself off. Luckily, Stella was the only one around to see what had happened between the two. The next day, there was no mention of the kiss or the pool during school. The two continued on almost like nothing had happened between them, even Scott was a little confused, but he didn't pry. The only thing that had changed were how quiet they were around each other, but Scott noticed how they would steal glances at each other or lightly brush against each other when they thought no one would notice. Scott wanted to ask if they were together, but he figured they would tell him when they were ready.

So the days went by, neither Stiles or Leah saying anything about the kiss or their relationship, just talking about safe topics: Scott's upcoming full moon, homework, etc. If anything, Stiles and Leah were both a little nervous around each other; things had changed, even if they pretended it didn't. It was a weird change for the two of them and it would take a little getting used to, which is what often led to the awkward silences they were currently experiencing.

"Did you, uh, make dinner?" Stiles broke the silence, motioning to the stove area.

"Some of it." Leah nodded, "Like the sides and stuff. Drew is grilling the rest." Stiles couldn't help but smile at that; loved Mr. Kane's cooking. Whenever he was at the hospital visiting his mom, Mr. Kane would always bring him leftovers from whatever meal Stiles had missed. Stiles knew that Leah's dad had taught her how to cook and vaguely remembered her helping out during First Friday dinners.

"Oh, okay cool." Stiles made a face and glanced back to Leah, "I'm sure it's great."

"It will be." Leah raised her eyebrows and Stiles felt the corner of his mouth quirk up a bit. He licked his lips and swallowed before reaching out to take Leah's hand in his, twisting his fingers around hers. Leah looked down at their hands before looking back up at Stiles, eyebrows still raised. Stiles noticed and raised his eyebrows, slowly drawing his hand back. Leah scoffed at him and reached back out for his hand, letting them tangle their fingers together.

"So, your dad's outside." Stiles started as his eyes went down to fold his hand in Leah's, pulling his thumb up to start a thumb war. Leah got the hint and copied the motion, "Saw Connor in the living room with the baby and some girl —"

"Rachel." Leah cut him off as she moved her thumb around his, trying not to get caught, "Some girl from somewhere. I don't know, I just met her."

"She staying in town?" Stiles asked as he tried to wrap his thumb around Leah's, trying to force her thumb down.

"Think so."

"She kinda scares me." Stiles admitted as Leah got out of his trap, pushing her thumb up against his. She hummed at his comment, "Where's that lady — your aunt?"

"Right here, babe. What's up?" Stiles glanced over his shoulder to see that Leah's aunt had walked back inside, a beer in hand. Leah took advantage of the distraction and quickly got Stiles's thumb under hers and pressed it down,

"Ha! I win!" Leah cheered as Stiles looked back at her. She grinned at him and leaned closer, pulling his hand towards him so he leaned towards her. Stiles rolled his eyes at her,

"Because again, I was scared by your aunt."

"Mmm, I think I'm just better at thumb wars than you." Leah taunted getting a smirk from Stiles.

"Oh, really?" He asked. Leah raised an eyebrow at him as the two stared at each other, the tension in the room all about palpable.

"I'm ruining the moment." Stella piped up, reminding the two teens that they weren't alone. Leah sat back from Stiles and used her free hand to fuss with her hair as Stiles's face turned a little red.

"Sorry, Aunt Stella." Leah quickly said, getting a hand wave from her aunt.

"Oh do _not_ be sorry, babe." Stella made a face, "If anything, _I'm_ sorry I keep interrupting your little moments." She pressed her hand to her chest and Leah gave her a small smile.

"Who's moments?" Drew asked as he closed the porch door behind him. Stella glanced over her shoulder at her brother before looking back at Leah.

Making her eyes wide, Stella placed her beer to her lips, taking a swig from it to avoid answering. Drew looked to where Stiles and Leah sat and Leah quickly pulled her hand away from Stiles's, even though Drew couldn't see that they were holding hands. But he did see Leah's motion and started to put two and two together.

Before he could say anything, Tara entered with the rest of the adults, "Ready?" She asked, eyebrows raising and effectively getting Drew's attention off of the teens. Drew looked away from Leah and Stiles, looking to his wife with a nod as he closed his mouth,

"Mhm, yep, have at it." Drew gestured to the set up on the island.

"I'll go find Scott and Allison." Leah piped up, sliding off of stool.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Stiles asked, eyebrows raising as he swallowed a bit.

"I think I got it." Leah gave him a look before turning away and slipping past the adults and heading for the stairs. She walked through the living room, noticing Rachel and Connor talking quietly on the couch, "Dinner." She mentioned in passing, getting their attention. Connor nodded and Leah didn't wait for a verbal response, swinging around the banister and taking the stairs two at a time.

Her bedroom door was closed and Leah knocked twice before pushing the door open. Instead of finding Scott and Allison making out, she found them sitting on her bed, going through one of her old photo albums she kept in her room.

"Hey, dinner." She thumbed over her shoulder, getting the couple's attention.

"Okay." Scott grinned at her with a nod. Allison's light giggle got Scott's attention and she pointed at a picture, getting Scott to smile fondly at it.

"Like now." Leah waved her hand in the air, "Like please come downstairs because I need reinforcements." Allison looked up from the album, tucking her hair behind her ear with a grin on her face,

"What's going on?" She asked, part of her concerned but another part still amused at the pictures of young Leah and Scott.

"Nothing." Leah lied, pulling the corners of her mouth down, "Just would like to even the adult to teen ratio." She made her eyes wide, moving her head around a bit, "So can we go, please? The pictures will still be here after dinner. Get some wine in my father and he will tell you all the stories behind them."

"Promise?" Allison joked, getting an eye roll from Leah.

"Okay, okay." Scott set the album down and got off the bed, taking Allison's hand in his.

Leah noticed and a part of her envied Scott for how easy it seemed for him to be with Allison, even when they weren't even supposed to be together at all. Instead of saying anything, Leah crossed her arms over her chest and gave them a knowing look, turning away from them and walking out of her bedroom, Scott and Allison following behind her.

The three of them walked into the living room where the rest of the group were settling onto various seats, plates balancing on laps, drinks in hand. Leah didn't pay attention to the conversation, heading into the kitchen and handing two plates to Allison and Scott before grabbing herself one. She picked at a few pieces of food, slowly beginning to pile up her plate. She grabbed a napkin and plastic utensils before taking a water bottle from the case on the counter. Turning, she watched Scott and Allison do the same and left them to their own devices, walking into the living room.

Surveying her options, Leah realized the only free single space was next to Stiles, on the floor in front of the coffee table, back to the front windows, facing the rest of the room. Stiles, who was shoveling a forkful of mac and cheese into his mouth, noticed Leah looking around for a spot to sit and he glanced to the spot next to him before meeting her eye. He raised his eyebrows and gestured to it, watching her nostrils flare a bit as she took in a breath. Leah looked nervous for some reason, which made him nervous, so he quickly looked away, letting her make up her own mind.

"Honey, there's a spot next to Stiles." Tara got Leah's attention, giving her a warm smile. Leah forced a smile on her face and nodded,

"No, yeah I realize that." Leah coughed, "I was just, uh, making sure Allison and Scott had some place to sit."

"The little couch is open." Tara motioned to the smaller couch, which was more like a glorified foot rest. Leah nodded and swallowed, not saying anything as she made her way over to the spot on the floor.

Folding herself down, Leah set her plate next to Stiles's, her water bottle laying on its side next to her plate. Leah tucked her legs under herself and pushed her hair over her shoulders so it was away from her face. The conversation resumed to whatever topic the adults had been previously talking about as Leah picked up her fork. Stabbing at her salad, Leah stayed quiet, not listening to the conversation, but also not making conversation with anyone else around her — including Stiles.

"If you need some help," Leah looked up at the sound of Rachel's voice, "I'm more than qualified to do forensics for your department." Rachel offered looking in between the sheriff and Tara, "I mean, I've done a ton of shadowing and work with the lab at school."

"Are you done with your degree?" The sheriff asked, shifting his weight on the couch.

"Basically." Rachel shrugged, but didn't elaborate.

"I'd have to look over your credentials and such but I don't see why not. We could always use another hand on the forensics team." The sheriff nodded and Rachel grinned at him, pleased with herself as Connor shook his head at his friend. Leah and Stiles exchanged a look as the conversation turned to Rachel and Connor's time together at school.

Dinner finished up without any serious casualties — Connor was the main target for dropping out of school, but other than that it was a normal First Friday-esque dinner. While the adults talked in the living room, Leah went into the kitchen to get dessert ready. Stiles ambled in a few moments later, tossing his empty paper plate and walking around the island to survey the dessert layout. He stood next to Leah, close enough to her but far enough not to raise any suspicions from the parents. He wasn't sure if Leah wanted to go about telling everyone about their new relationship status or if there even was one at all.

"What did you make?" Stiles turned his head to look at Leah as she switched out the dinner plates for dessert plates, "Just so I know which ones to avoid." He added with a smirk, getting an unamused look from Leah.

"Please, I once saw you eat an entire plate of my cookies." Leah waved her hand at him,

"But what you didn't see was me throwing them up later on."

"Well, that's just cause you ate a dozen cookies in less than ten minutes." Leah shot back, eyes going wide, a smile tugging at her lips. Stiles made a face and nodded. He leaned one hand against the counter and surveyed the layout of desserts.

"My mom made her famous tres leches cake." Scott said as he and Allison entered the kitchen, empty plates in hand. Stiles and Leah both let out matching satisfied moans at the thought of Melissa's cake. It was the one thing Leah had tried to make over and over again, but it never ever lived up to Melissa's cake. She had no clue what she was doing wrong, but she decided to leave the cake to the expert.

"Yeah there's no way I'm eating any of your desserts." Stiles seriously said, looking back at Leah.

"Totally understandable." Leah nodded, putting her hands up and getting a grin from Stiles. He inched closer to her as Scott and Allison threw their plates out.

Scott started to clean up the dinner plates, putting things into containers with Allison's help. Leah glanced over at the two of them, noticing how close they were standing together and how happy they looked to be spending time with each other. She glanced away and went back to adjust one of the cookies on the plate. Stiles's hand snaked over and snatched away one of the cookies Leah was setting.

"Excuse me." Leah stated, eyebrows raising as she watched Stiles take a bite of the cookie.

"First dessert." Stiles said around a mouthful of cookie. Leah rolled her eyes and stepped away from him as the kitchen began to fill with the rest of the families.

Taking two cookies — one of Allison's and one of her own, and a piece of Melissa's cake, Leah folded herself onto one of the chairs in the dining room. Allison came in a few moments later and sat across from Leah, plate in hand. Leah gave her a head nod in greeting as Allison pulled her chair in, glancing around herself before leaning closer,

"So? What's up with you and Stiles?" She asked, folding her arms on the table. Leah pulled back from Allison, eyebrows raising as she looked down the hall to where Stiles and Scott were laughing about something or other,

"Uh, what?" She asked back, brow furrowing, "We—what—what do you mean?" Allison raised her eyebrows and gave Leah a knowing look,

"The other night at the hospital. I left you two out there and neither of you came inside." A sly smirk appeared on Allison's face. Leah sat back in her seat and frowned, reaching for a cookie. She realized she never told Allison what happened. Leah had spent the past few days completely focused on making sure no one knew that something had happened between her and Stiles — and it seemed like it had worked a little too well.

"Ah, well," She started breaking apart the cookie, "He," Leah shrugged and looked over at everyone in the kitchen before quickly looking back at Allison, "You know...he kissed me." Leah whispered, just loud enough for Allison to hear her.

"What!?" Allison all about gleefully shouted out, getting everybody's attention. Leah made a face at Allison and swallowed as Allison covered her mouth with her hand, the smile still apparent — reaching all the way to her eyes. Leah rolled her eyes at her friend, waiting for everyone to go back to their conversation.

"Oh my God." Allison whispered out, laughing a little.

"Can we talk about this later, please?" Leah all about begged, shoving part of the broken cookie into her mouth, "I don't need everyone finding out about it right now." Leah gave Allison a look, getting a nod from her.

"Yep, totally." Allison sat back in her seat, waving her hand in the air, "Just wow. I can't believe that happened." Allison laughed to herself.

"Can't believe what happened?" Stiles asked as he sat down next to Allison. Allison looked over to him, a knowing smile on her face.

"Oh, you know, Stilinski." She pointed at him with her cake covered fork, "You know what you did." She grinned at him before popping the fork into her mouth. Stiles moved his head around a bit, obviously lost,

"What did I do?" Stiles asked, looking in between her and Leah. He glanced up as Scott sat down next to Leah. Allison laughed a little, tapping her fork against her teeth.

"You know, right?" Allison asked Scott. Scott looked between Leah and Stiles, making a face and nodding.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I know."

"Oh my God." Stiles rolled his head around, getting frustrated, "What, for the love of God, did I do?" He hissed out, flailing his hands out a bit.

"You guys kissed!" Allison stage whispered, bouncing in her seat, looking in between Leah and Stiles, "I mean!" She gave them pointed, excited looks, trying to convey how delighted she was by the newest development.

"They also kissed like three more times after the fact." Scott added with a knowing, amused grin.

"Oh my God, you were watching?!" Leah leaned forward, turning her head to look at her best friend, "Scott!" Stiles rubbed his hand over his mouth, making his eyes wide at Scott as Allison let out an excited gasp.

"Just shut up, everyone shut up." Stiles made his eyes wide, noticing Connor and Rachel walking away from the kitchen and down the hallway. Leah shot one last look to Scott before sitting back in her seat, Allison tried to stop smiling as did Scott, all of them trying to act normal as Connor and Rachel came into the dining room.

Stella peered around the fridge, looking down the hall where Connor and Rachel went to go sit with the group of teens. She watched them interact for a moment, catching Leah and Stiles stealing looks at each other.

"So that girl, Allison," Stella stepped away from the fridge, closing the door, "She's Scott's girlfriend, right?" She asked Tara. She was helping her sister in law clean up the kitchen while the rest of the adults finished up with dessert, talking in the living room.

"Mhm." Tara nodded as Stella went to prop her elbows up atop the island, resting her chin in her hands, "She's had rough few weeks so I'm happy she was able to come here. Get away from all the crazy." Stella furrowed her brow, her lack of a verbal response, getting Tara to glance up and realize she needed to explain, "Her aunt ended up being the one responsible for all these murders — it's terrible." Tara shook her head.

"That's, yeah…" Stella didn't really know how to respond, so she decided to move on, "Moving on to something _less_ depressing," Stella raised her eyebrows and stepped up to the island, "I gotta say, I always thought Scott and Leah would end up together, but I guess life had different plans." Stella laughed at herself, glancing over her shoulder at the group at the dining room table. "Funny how they all ended up with each other, huh?"

"What do you mean by that?" Tara asked, brow furrowing as she separated the leftover slices of cake.

"Nothing, nothing." Stella realized she said too much and backed off, pushing off of the island. Tara fixed her with a look, pretty much demanding Stella tell her what she knew, "Listen, forget I said anything, okay?" Stella raised her eyebrows at her sister in law, not wanting to out Leah and Stiles's relationship.

Tara snapped one of the containers closed and glanced down the hallway, seeing the teens laughing at something Scott had said. She watched as Leah reached over the table to playfully smack Stiles at his response, amused smiles on both of their faces. Tara studied them for a moment, beginning to connect the pieces together. Tilting her head to the side, Tara looked away from the dining room and back at Stella,

"Are you saying that Stiles and Leah are together?" Tara asked, lowering her voice a bit just in case.

"Wait, what?" Tara turned at the sound of the sheriff's voice, "Did you just say Stiles and Leah are _dating?"_ The sheriff had his hand out and raised his eyebrows up.

"No, keep your voice down," Tara tilted her head towards the hallway, "No, I don't know, okay?" Tara paused, crossing her arms over her chest, "But if they _are—_ "

"I thought they hated each other." The sheriff raised his hand up and then let it drop, obviously a little confused at the sudden turn of events,

"We should let them tell us themselves." Tara finished, giving the sheriff a serious look, "Stella only _alluded_ to it, I'm not sure if they even know." Tara glanced over her shoulder at Stella before looking back at the sheriff. "Let's just pretend everything's normal." She let out a sigh as the sheriff glanced around the kitchen, hands on his hips. He went to say something only to stop as Stiles and Leah came into the kitchen, followed by Allison and Scott.

The group barely paused to say hello, only nodding at their respective parents before heading into the living room. The adults watched them go for the stairs, the sheriff turning to silently agree with Tara about pretending everything was normal.

Taking the stairs two at a time, Leah led her friends to her bedroom room, closing the door once everyone was inside. Stiles flopped down on Leah's bed while Scott took over the chair in the corner, Allison sitting on his lap. Leah wandered over to the bed and sat on the edge, looking around herself and waiting for someone to say something,

"So are you two dating or what?" Allison finally spoke up, shifting in Scott's lap so she was in a more comfortable position.

"Uh…" Leah trailed off, glancing at Stiles,

"Yes?" Stiles finished for her, raising his eyebrows and squinting a bit, "I think so?"

"I mean, yeah I guess — we never really decided." Leah flicked a hand in between the space between her and Stiles.

"Well, we talked about it—"

"Briefly, yeah but we never like _made it official_." Leah made her voice deeper and moved her head side to side as she spoke. Allison and Scott watched them with matching amused grins.

"How do we make it official?" Stiles asked back, getting confused.

"By telling people." Allison piped up, getting the two's attention, "Like your best friends."

"Oh, yeah, well," Stiles scoffed, motioning to the couple.

"Now you know." Leah added on, waving her hand around, "We're dating." Allison let out a little excited noise and grinned at the couple.

"Good. Okay, that is all I needed to know." Allison brought her hands to her mouth, covering only part of her grin, "This is good." She nodded, looking in between Scott and Stiles and Leah, "Right, I mean, this is good."

"Yeah, no it'll take some getting used to but this is definitely good." Scott agreed with a nod, happy for his friends. Leah rolled her eyes, trying not to smile as she fell back into Stiles. Stiles automatically caught her, arms going around Leah's shoulders as he let out a groan. Allison gave him a happy smile that he couldn't help but return.

"Okay, well, I should get going." Allison pushed out of Scott's lap, "Can't have my dad getting suspicious." She sighed as Scott got out of the chair, going to grab her hand. Leah looked up at Stiles and slid out of his grasp. She rolled off of the bed and got to her feet, motioning for Stiles to follow her. Stiles gave her a confused look but got off of the bed, following Leah out of her bedroom and into the hallway.

Closing her bedroom door, Leah raised her eyebrows at Stiles, "Didn't really feel like seeing them make out." Leah whispered, getting Stiles to make a face and nod. His hands went to his hips and he stepped back from Leah, letting her step forward to close the small space between them.

"So we're officially official now." Stiles stated, letting out a small sigh.

"Don't sound so excited." Leah side-eyed him, crossing her arms over her chest. Stiles rolled his eyes at her, "But yeah I guess." She shrugged.

"Who else do we have to tell?" Stiles raised an eyebrow, squinting a bit, "Our parents?"

"Fuck, yeah I guess." Leah stepped back from Stiles, going to lean against the wall. She sighed and looked away from him, "That'll be a nice conversation." Stiles laughed lightly at Leah, stepping closer to her.

"Oh for sure." Stiles agreed. Leah tried not to smile up at him, but failed, getting an amused smile from Stiles, "Stop pretending like you aren't happy about this." He teased, closing the space between them. Leah dropped her arms from her chest and let them snake around his waist,

"Only if you stop too." Leah raised her eyebrows up at him.

"Okay fine." Stiles shrugged, "I'm happy they know about us." Stiles jerked his head towards Leah's bedroom door, talking about Scott and Allison, "And they seemed pretty happy about it too." He smirked at Leah, getting her to roll her eyes. She reached up to push Stiles's face away from her, turning his head to the side.

Stiles turned his face back to Leah and he wrapped his arms around Leah's waist, stepping closer to her. He moved slowly, back curving as he leaned down to softly, yet hesitantly kiss Leah. Her hand came to rest on his cheek and she paused for a moment before kissing him back. Kissing each other was still a new feeling for them, but not a bad one.

The sound of a door opening made Leah pull away first, turning Stiles's face away from her as she looked down the hall to see Connor and Rachel step out of his bedroom. Connor took in the scene before him and raised his eyebrows up, getting Leah to push Stiles away from her. Stiles glanced over to see Connor staring at them and Stiles quickly looked away, hand going to rub at his mouth, other hand on his hip. Leah crossed her arms over her stomach and swallowed hard, feeling her face flush.

"Well, okay." Connor bobbed his head in a nod, "I guess we'll—"

"Talk about this later, yeah." Leah cut her brother off with a nod. Connor nodded in agreement, stepping forward to walk through the pair, Rachel following behind silently, but with a studying eye.

Once Connor and Rachel were halfway down the stairs, Stiles glanced down at Leah, seeing that she was biting on her bottom lip and he couldn't help but let out a small laugh. Leah covered her face with her hands, letting out a small groan as Stiles stepped back to wrap his arms around her and pull her into his chest.

A few moments later, Allison and Scott came out of Leah's bedroom, getting Stiles and Leah to step away from each other, silently saying hello to their friends. Allison grinned at the two of them before walking through them, dropping her chin to her chest and raising her eyebrows at Stiles. Stiles rolled his eyes at her as Leah followed behind Allison, walking down the stairs with her friend.

"You ready to go, honey?" Melissa called out from the living room as the group stepped off of the stairs. Allison slipped into her coat as Scott nodded at his mom. Both Stiles and Scott went into the living room to talk to their respective parents.

"Ally, I'll walk you out." Leah reached out to Allison as she picked up her backpack.

"Oh, Allison, are you heading out?" Tara asked as she walked through the dining room.

"Yeah, but thank you for tonight." Allison flipped her hair over her shoulders, giving Leah's mom a warm smile, "I really appreciate the invite."

"Do you want anything to take home? We have a lot of leftovers." Tara offered as Stella walked into the foyer, leaning against the doorframe with a coffee cup in her hand.

"Oh, I'm okay." Allison shook her head, "But thank you."

I don't think we were properly introduced tonight." Stella got the group's attention, "Can you just remind me of your name?"

"Shit, sorry." Leah looked in between her aunt and Allison, "That was my bad, uh, Stella, this is Allison. Allison, Stella." Leah quickly introduced them and Stella gave Allison a warm smile.

"What's your last name, babe?"

"Uh, Argent." Allison's brow furrowed a bit as she hiked her backpack up on her shoulder. Stella's pointer finger tapped against the coffee cup as she nodded thoughtfully.

"Well, Allison Argent, it was nice to meet you." Stella gave Allison another warm smile, "Get home safe." Allison returned the smile, but it was clear she was a little uncomfortable.

"I'll be right back." Leah said to Tara, reaching for the door. Tara nodded and waved a little to Allison. Allison returned the wave before she followed Leah outside.

It had begun raining, which caused Leah and Allison to huddle on the front stoop under the front awning. Allison pulled on her hat and glanced across the street to locate her car as Leah wrapped her arms over chest,

"Why did your aunt want to know my last name?" Allison asked, looking back to Leah.

"I have no idea." Leah sighed, "She's kinda big on that whole _names are the path to the soul._ or whatever." Leah shook her head, "She's kinda hippie but also like super wild. It's weird." Allison chewed on her bottom lip and nodded, "Yeah, sorry about that."

"No, it's fine." Allison furrowed her brow and laughed a little, "Just threw me off." Leah raised her eyebrows and nodded, glancing away from Allison, "So you and Stiles." Allison stated, changing the subject with a grin. Leah rolled her eyes as she turned back to Allison,

"Please don't make this into a Big Thing." Leah groaned.

"Oh, it's a Big Thing." Allison teased, getting a deep sigh from Leah, "No, but I'm happy." Allison's head bobbed in a nod, "It's like _finally_ you know?" Allison laughed lightly as Leah nodded in response,

"Yeah, well, it'll take some getting used to." Leah slipped her hands into her back pockets, "But yeah, who knows." Leah shrugged, "We'll see what happens." She gave Allison a half smile and Allison gave her a proud smile.

"Yeah, of course." She nodded, "Okay, well, I need to get going." Allison reached out to hug Leah and Leah responded, "Thank you for tonight." Allison mumbled before pulling back, "With Scott and everything."

"Anything I can do to help." Leah responded with a smile, pulling back from Allison.

Allison gave her a smile, realizing that what Leah did was unlike what Leah would normally do, but she just chalked it up to Leah's new relationship status with Stiles. Allison knew how much Leah cared for Scott and figured the set up was more for him than Allison, but Allison wasn't complaining.

"See you tomorrow." Allison bid goodbye to Leah before ducking out into the rain, hurrying to her car.

Waiting until Allison's car drove away, Leah then turned and went back into the house to see Scott and Melissa and the sheriff and Stiles getting ready to leave. She gave a small smile to the group and stepped around them, walking into the living room doorway. Her parents bid goodbye to Melissa and the sheriff, the sheriff making a comment about how Tara was a day away from being cleared. Scott stepped over to Leah to say goodbye to her,

"Thanks for tonight." He sincerely said, a warm smile on his face. Leah reached out to lightly punch his arm,

"Yeah, no problem." She smirked at him, "Thanks for not having sex on my bed." Scott raised his eyebrows at her and gave an amused grunt.

"Hey," Stiles stepped up to Leah and Scott, placing a hand on Scott's shoulder, "We're leaving, so, uh, I'll see you tomorrow?" He asked, glancing from Scott to Leah.

"Yeah, yep." Leah nodded, leaning against the doorframe and crossing her arms over her chest. Stiles gave her a half smile and nodded. He patted Scott's shoulder before turning away and stepping over to his dad.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Scott raised his eyebrows at Leah, stepping back from her.

"Later." Leah waved goodbye to her friend, watching them all leave out the front door.

Once Tara closed the front door, Leah pushed off of the doorframe and went for the stairs, only to have her mom stop her with a raised eyebrow.

"You and Stiles…?" Tara trailed off, not wanting to spell it out, but would if necessary. But, Leah caught on to what Tara was alluding to, blushing a bit.

"Ah, yeah…" Leah nodded, ducking her head down and looking away from her mom. There was no point in lying to her mom, not about something like her and Stiles. "How…?"

"I'm a deputy of the sheriff's department." Tara placed her hand to her chest, pretending to be offended, "You can't get anything by me." Leah looked back up at her mom, raising her eyebrows up, but not responding; she knew there was so much her mom didn't know.

"No, Connor told me he saw you and Stiles kissing in the hall." Tara sighed out.

"That little fucker." Leah whispered under her breath.

"You know I trust you two, right?" Tara asked, ignoring Leah's comment. Leah nodded, licking her lips and not really wanting to have this conversation, but it seemed Tara didn't care, "But you understand that since your relationship has changed, it means there needs to be a few rules."

"I know."

"Keep your door open, let us know when you're with him, be safe, don't do anything you're uncomfortable with." Tara laid down the rules, "Make sure you respect him and he respects you."

"Got it, Mom." Leah raised her eyebrows up and Tara gave her a knowing smile. She stepped closer to Leah, reaching around to pull Leah's head to her,

"I'm glad you two are together." Tara kissed the top of her head and Leah smiled to herself.

"I'm gonna head upstairs." Leah said as she stepped back from her mom, "Thanks for tonight." Tara nodded at her, giving Leah a warm smile before stepping past Leah.

* * *

Walking up the stairs, Stella closed the basement door, glancing around to make sure no one was around. Dinner had long since finished and it seemed everyone went their separate ways. Stella walked down the hall and got to the front door, realizing it had been unlocked and was slightly ajar. Not thinking anything of it, Stella slipped outside into the night, jogging lightly through the rain.

Once at her car, Stella slipped inside, grateful she had remembered to put the top up. Reaching over, Stella opened the glovebox with one hand, the other reaching up to turn on the inside light. She reached for the mysterious envelope, pulling it out and sitting back in her seat.

Stella opened the envelope, setting the picture on the seat next to her. Pulling out the note, she flipped it open, eyes going to the signature of the sender. _Kate Argent._

Taking in a breath, Stella glanced up and over the note, looking through the windshield. She stared through the rain, not even flinching when the sky flashed bright with lightening a rumble of thunder following.

* * *

The sound of thunder made Stiles look over at his window, seeing the rain coming down. It passed after a moment and Stiles pulled his pj shirt over his head, hearing his phone buzz with an incoming text. Reaching for his phone, Stiles saw that Allison had texted him back about Lydia's first day back at school and how she was going out to meet with Scott again later in the night. When he unlocked his phone, his texts with Leah were displayed and he couldn't help but smile at them.

Everything was kind of back to normal. Lydia had been found, safe and somewhat unharmed, and as much as he was glad that Lydia was found, him and Leah had made their relationship official in the eyes of Scott and Allison. He was in a relationship. With _Leah Kane_. Not to mention, the memory lapse she had in the hospital the weekend before had seemed to be only temporary — there hadn't been any forgetting of what had happened between them or homework, or projects or people. Things were looking up.

Another crack of lightening made Stiles look away from his phone, hearing the thunder. For some reason it sounded louder than the previous clap of thunder and it went on a bit longer too.

Stiles paused, carefully listening to the thunder. A part of him thought it sounded like someone pounding on the front door and he peered out into the hallway, stepping out as the pounding stopped for a moment only to pick back up immediately. The doorbell started ringing, making it clear that someone _was_ at the front door. Stiles glanced at his phone, wondering who was making a house call when it was almost eleven pm.

Padding down the hall, Stiles went down the stairs, getting to the front door as the knocking abruptly stopped. Stiles unlocked the door and pulled it open only to stop short at the person standing on his porch.

Leah turned around to face him, completely drenched, barefoot and in nothing but sweatpants and an old Beacon Hills High spirit day tee. She was shivering and looked like she had just seen a ghost.

"I think I killed someone." Leah's voice shook as Stiles stared her.

* * *

 _A/N: Questions, comments, concerns or cries of outrage?_


	5. How Quickly the Night Changed

There was a light tapping on the bathroom door, getting Leah to glance over her shoulder. She looked back at herself in the mirror above the sink and swallowed before pausing for a moment. Taking in a breath through her nose, Leah turned away from the sink and reached for the door, opening it up to let Stiles in.

But he didn't step into the bathroom, instead choosing to stay in the doorway. Crossing his arms over his chest, Stiles was — for maybe the third time in his life, at a loss for words. He watched Leah let out a deep breath before reaching down and picking up her wet clothes.

"Do you mind if I let these dry in here?" Leah raised her eyebrows at him, her voice sounding rough, but still quiet. Stiles barely managed a nod, letting Leah set her wet sweatpants and shirt over the radiator in the bathroom.

Stiles had given her a fresh pair of clothes — a plain shirt, a lacrosse hoodie and his plaid pj pants. He still hadn't said anything to Leah, honestly not even knowing where to begin. He had let Leah inside, closing the door behind her and making sure it was locked before dipping into the laundry room to grab a what had been in the dryer so that Leah would be able to get warm.

She was still slightly shivering after placing her clothes over the radiator so Stiles stepped away from the bathroom, walking away from her and going into the kitchen. Leah didn't follow — going into the living room and wrapping a blanket around herself. She folded herself onto the couch, placing her head at the end of the couch, staring at the wall above the television as she tried to figure out how to explain to Stiles what happened.

A figure stepped in front of Leah's line of vision, getting her to look up and see Stiles standing above her, holding a mug that had steam coming from it. Leah propped herself up on her elbow, reaching out to take the mug from his hand. She gave him a grateful smile, shifting a bit so she was more upright and comfortable. Tucking her legs under herself, she made room for Stiles to sit down next to her — which he did.

Leah took a small sip of whatever was in the mug, realizing that it was hot chocolate. She smiled to herself as she held the cup in both hands. Out of the corner of her eye, Leah watched Stiles lean forward, then back, then shift so his torso was facing her, tucking one leg under him and letting one arm rest on top of the couch.

"What happened?" Stiles finally asked, swallowing as he waited for Leah's answer, "And _don't_ say you don't know —"

"I don't." Leah cut Stiles off, voice still a little raspy, "I don't know how I got there or what I did. All I remember is waking up in some alley and I was completely drenched." Leah paused and glanced to Stiles. He was looking at her expectantly, wanting her to explain more, "There was this car door a few feet away, almost like someone had ripped it off." Leah took in a breath, looking away from Stiles as she thought back to what she saw in the street, "So I went over to the door and then saw the car by the end of the alley, lights still on. And when I got up to the car, there was just blood everywhere."

"Do you know who it was?" Stiles quietly asked. Leah shook her head, hands shifting around the mug.

"No, I just saw what was left of the body."

"And no one else was there."

"Not that I know of." She paused for a moment, "Stiles, what if I killed him?" Leah turned to look at him, "I mean, I can't remember anything leading up to it. I—I was the only one at the scene, I mean there wasn't any blood on me, but who knows how long I was in the rain, it could've washed off. Right?" Leah raised her eyebrows at him, "Oh my God, I killed someone." Leah whispered out, turning away from Stiles. Stiles took in a breath and hesitantly reached out to Leah, "And I went to the _sheriff's_ house." Leah sounded disgusted at her choice, "Wow, I'm such an idiot." She quietly laughed to herself, "You're not gonna tell your dad, right?" Leah looked back at Stiles, "Cause if he knows that I _mysteriously_ found the body, I'm gonna be questioned and they're not gonna take blackouts as a plausible alibi, I—"

"I'm not gonna tell him." Stiles shook his head, feeling his stomach knot up a little, "You're not gonna be questioned or anything." Leah stared at him for a moment before looking away from him. She put her mug down on the table and rested her face in her hands.

"I hate this. I can't remember anything. I either killed a guy or I didn't." Leah softly said, mostly to herself.

Stiles watched her for a moment, seeing how vulnerable Leah was and not knowing how to respond. He wasn't used to this side of Leah; the scared and timid side. A part of him wanted to believe her, but a part of him wondered if she had actually done what she said. Stiles didn't know whether to comfort her or be afraid of the girl sitting next to him.

"You can stay here for the night." Stiles settled on, knowing that it was more of a demand than a question. He wanted to be able to keep an eye on Leah, make sure she didn't go anywhere else.

"You sure?" Leah asked, raising her eyebrows. Stiles nodded and hesitantly reached out to Leah again. This time, Leah leaned into his touch, curling up against his side and Stiles wrapped his arm around her. She moved so her head was on his lap, Stiles not knowing what to do with his hands so he wrapped one around her waist, moving so he could hold her hand while the other stayed by his side.

"Do you think I killed him?" Leah softly asked.

"I don't think you killed him." Stiles responded, telling her what she wanted to hear, and not knowing if he was lying or not.

A few minutes later, Leah had fallen asleep on the couch and Stiles was careful as he got up from the couch, not wanting to wake her. Gently, he moved her so her head was against the pillows at the end of the couch. They had sat there for a while, in silence, both thinking about the same thing. But Stiles figured he just leave Leah on the couch instead of attempting to move her into a more comfortable place.

Grabbing his phone from the coffee table, Stiles walked out of the living room and into the kitchen. He scrolled through his contact list with one hand, using the other to scribble out a note to his dad about Leah sleeping over — him and his dad had a discussion about Stiles's relationship with Leah in the car ride home from the dinner and Stiles knew this was going to be another conversation, but that was for tomorrow.

Stiles tapped on Connor's name, letting the call connect before placing the phone to his ear. It rang twice before Connor picked up,

 _"Hello?"_ Connor casually answered.

"Connor, hey, it's Stiles." Stiles paused for a moment, "I, uh, just wanted to let you know that Leah is here."

 _"What? Why?"_ Connor suddenly became more alert, _"Is she okay?"_

"Yeah! Well, physically, yes. She had another black out and ended up here." Stiles explained, rubbing the back of his neck as he paced in a small circle.

 _"I'll be over in a couple minutes."_ Stiles heard him shuffling about.

"No, no, dude, it's okay. She's sleeping now." Stiles reassured him, "I don't wanna wake her." He heard nothing from Connor's end and took in a breath, "I just wanted to let you know that she's okay."

 _"Thank you, Stiles."_ Connor seriously said. Stiles nodded before realizing Connor couldn't see him nod.

"I'll, uh, fill you in in the morning." Stiles promised Connor.

The two said their goodbyes and Stiles hung up the phone. Quickly, Stiles went up the stairs to his bedroom, grabbing a blanket and a pillow from his bed before heading back down the stairs. He went back into the living room, glancing over at Leah to make sure she was still there and still asleep. Settling into the loveseat, Stiles stuffed the pillow behind his head and covered himself with the blanket.

He watched Leah sleep, thinking about how quickly the night changed. At her house, Leah was fine, maybe even better than she usually was. She had done something _nice_ for their friends and even agreed to make things official with him. And then it was a full one eighty a few hours later. Stiles wondered if whatever Peter had done to her was affecting more than just her memories — causing serious brain damage that would only get worse if something wasn't done about it. Or maybe it was something else entirely.

Struggling to stay awake, Stiles felt his eyes close even though he wanted to stay awake and make sure Leah didn't start sleep walking again. Eventually, sleep took over and Stiles couldn't do anything about it.

* * *

Rubbing a hand over her face, Leah rolled over onto her side, slowly waking up. Her brow furrowed at the sight of the Stilinski living room layout, but then she remembered why she was at the Stilinski house. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Leah sat up on the couch, letting her arms drape over her bent knees. She glanced over to see Stiles asleep on the loveseat and she glanced at the clock under the television, seeing it was early.

Leah pushed the blanket off of her and carefully got off the couch. Wrapping her arms around herself, Leah padded into the downstairs bathroom. Her clothes were still damp from the night before, but Leah would just have to deal with it. She undressed herself, pulling on her clothes from the previous night. They stuck to her skin, but Leah tried not to care. Glancing at herself in the mirror, she noticed how tired she looked, her hair was knotted up and she felt like she was run over by a truck. Tying her hair up in a bun, Leah peed, washed her hands and then left the bathroom, setting Stiles's clothes on the steps before she walked into the kitchen.

The sheriff was in the kitchen, pouring coffee into a to-go cup. He looked over at the sound of Leah's entrance, causing her to stop suddenly. An embarrassed look came over her and Leah ducked her head down, going to scratch behind her neck. "Hey, Leah." He gave her a warm smile, looking totally unsurprised that Leah was there,

"Stiles left me a note." He explained, holding up the sticky note with Stiles's scribbled writing on it. Leah opened her mouth and nodded a little bit.

"There's cereal in the cabinet. Help yourself, okay?" Leah nodded again, giving the sheriff a small smile, "Make sure you get to school on time." The sheriff took a sip of his coffee before he walked by Leah. Leah nodded again, still not knowing what to say.

Once the sheriff left, Leah walked over to the cabinets, going through to try and find the cereal. She grabbed the box of Frosted Flakes and went in search for a bowl, grabbing a coffee mug instead. Leah poured in her cereal before adding some milk and leaning her back against the sink, surveying the kitchen.

Stiles shifted in the loveseat, slowly waking up and glancing over to the couch. He startled awake at the sight of an empty couch. Fearing the worst, Stiles pushed himself out of the loveseat, letting the blanket fall off of him as he looked around the living room for Leah. He peered around the corner into the dining room, seeing she wasn't there. Stiles left the living room, walking into the kitchen and relaxing at the sight of Leah spooning cereal out of a coffee mug. She glanced up at the sound of him walking into the kitchen and gave him a small, timid smile. Stiles returned the smile, placing his hands on his hips and tilting his head to the side,

"You know we have bowls, right?" Stiles asked.

"I couldn't find them." Leah shrugged, "Plus I'm too short to reach anything up there." Stiles scoffed in agreement, glancing away from her before looking back,

"You know you can borrow something of mine. I don't think we'll have time to stop at your house on the way to school."

"I'm fine in this." Leah glanced down at herself before meeting Stiles's squinty look, "What?"

"They're still wet."

"They'll dry." She shrugged, getting a deep sigh from Stiles,

"Okay, whatever." He waved his hand at her, "I'll, uh, text Scott and tell him to bring your backpack and lacrosse stuff."

"Please don't tell him why I'm here." Leah looked up from her cereal mug, "Just make up an excuse or something." Leah stared at him, almost pleadingly. Stiles licked his lips and took in a breath. He glanced down at the floor, rubbing a hand over his mouth as he nodded,

"Yeah, okay." Stiles half-heartedly agreed.

"Thanks." Leah quietly said, turning her attention back to her cereal mug.

The pair were quiet for a moment — Stiles watched Leah stir her spoon around her coffee mug, not looking at him. He went to turn to go back to the living room so he could get his phone, but Leah stopped him,

"You can say it, you know." Stiles stopped halfway, turning back to fully look at her, "I know you think I killed the guy." She was serious. Stiles always teased her about being a Barbie, but he knew she was just as smart — if not smarter than he was. He knew that she was well aware of how his brain worked; hers worked almost the same.

"It makes sense, right?" She asked, raising her eyebrows at him.

"…Yeah." Stiles blinked and gave a casual shrug, "Okay, yeah, I think you killed a guy." He caught Leah's reaction — the small flash of hurt that came over her face before she looked down at her mug.

"Are you mad or—or disappointed?" Leah asked, raising her shoulders up,

"What? No." Stiles's brow furrowed as he looked at her, "I'm not mad at you."

"So you're perfectly okay with the fact that your girlfriend may have killed someone." Leah pulled down the corners of her mouth, motioning with her hand.

"I'm not _okay_ with it, per se." Stiles rolled forward on his toes, "But I'll…you know, make sure no one finds out or arrests you or whatever." Stiles waved his hand in the air. Leah tilted her head to the side, trying not to smile,

"Good to know." Stiles raised his eyebrows at her and glanced away, "Let's go to school then." Leah sighed, getting Stiles to look back at her, hands going to rest on his hips. Leah turned around to face the sink, dumping her leftover milk down the drain and setting the cup in the sink. She turned back to Stiles and gave him a raised eyebrow look before walking past him and into the living room,

"Leah—" Stiles started, feeling like there was still more to discuss. "Can we just talk about what we're gonna do next?"

"No." Leah simply said, "We have to go to school. We have morning practice." She walked over to the couch, folding up the blanket she had been using and placing it over the back of the couch.

"You look liked you just climbed out of a sewer." Stiles motioned to her,

"Wow, you _really_ know how to compliment a girl." Leah sarcastically said, glancing over her shoulder at Stiles.

"Just—at least let me get you a sweatshirt."

"No, I'm fine."

"Your clothes are still wet. You'll freeze as soon as we step outside." Stiles argued back, hating how stubborn Leah was being.

"Your Jeep has heating, right? I'll be fine." Leah turned to look at him, eyebrows raised.

"You're not wearing a bra and it's _painfully_ obvious." Stiles suddenly said, motioning to Leah's chest area. Leah's hands instantly went to her boobs, and Stiles tried not to stare at her chest. Realizing that Stiles was right, Leah folded her arms over her boobs, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Sweatshirt?" Leah asked, making a face and nodding. Stiles rolled his eyes at her and placed his hands on his hips. He turned and walked over to the stairs, taking them two at a time to get to his room.

Quickly, Stiles dressed himself, using one hand to text Scott about grabbing Leah's backpack, lacrosse duffel and maybe a bra. Scott sent back a bunch of question marks, but agreed to getting the things for Leah. After dressing himself, Stiles grabbed his backpack and walked out of his bedroom while he texted Connor that he would explain more after they got to school.

Leah had placed Stiles's lacrosse sweatshirt on the bottom step so Stiles scooped it up as he stepped off the stairs. Still in the living room, Leah turned as Stiles entered, reaching up to catch the sweatshirt Stiles tossed at her. She gave him a look before tugging it on.

"Ready?" Stiles asked, eyebrows raising. Leah pulled the sleeves of Stiles's sweatshirt over her hands and nodded. "Scott's, uh, gonna meet us at school with your stuff…and a bra." Stiles added on, swallowing a bit. Leah made a face, but didn't comment.

"Did you tell him why I was here?" Leah hesitantly asked.

"Uh, no." Stiles placed his hands on his hips and shook his head.

"Thanks." Leah gave him a grateful smile, getting a nod from Stiles.

"Let's go." He motioned to the front door, getting Leah to walk in front of him.

Opening the front door, Leah stepped out of the Stilinski house, moving to the side so Stiles could lock the door. Then she followed him over to his Jeep, walking around to get into the passenger seat. Stiles threw his backpack in the backseat and started up the Jeep, reversing and heading to school.

The two were quiet for most of the ride. It wasn't a uncomfortable silence, but it sure wasn't comfortable. Before Stiles pulled into the school parking lot, Leah spoke up, "Do you think someone's found the body yet?" Leah asked, picking at the bottom of the sweatshirt.

"Probably." Stiles nodded. Leah licked her lips and let out a slow breath, "They're not gonna connect you in any way, Leah." Stiles glanced at her as he pulled into the school parking lot. Leah raised her eyebrows, but didn't agree. "Listen, we'll come up with an alibi. The only people who know you slept over are Scott, your brother and…my dad."

"Who's the _sheriff_." Leah reminded him, leaning forward in her seat, "And why does my brother know?"

"He asked me to call him if you, you know, lost it."

"Lost it." Leah stated, "Like lost my mind again?"

"…Yeah." Stiles chewed on his bottom lip as Leah squinted at him. He realized he didn't word it properly, but it was too late. She let out a disbelieving scoff and sat back in her seat.

Glancing away from her, Stiles pulled into a parking spot in front of the school. He shut the Jeep off and Leah immediately pushed out of the car, not saying a word. Stiles sighed before reaching into the back to grab his backpack and following her.

Scott met up with the two of them in front of the school, Leah's backpack in his hands, lacrosse duffel around his shoulder. He had broken into Leah's room — well, the window was unlocked, before he went to school. Stiles's request was odd, but Scott grabbed the items Leah needed. He hadn't spent too much time looking for a bra — feeling a bit embarrassed at looking at Leah's bras, but he had grabbed one and put in her backpack along with her phone.

Leah took the bags, giving Scott a grateful smile before glancing at Stiles, "I, uhm, am gonna go change…and find some socks." Leah looked down at her bare feet, wiggling her toes as the boys realized she wasn't wearing any shoes.

Not saying goodbye, Leah turned away from the boys, heading into the school. Scott and Stiles watched her go before Scott turned to him.

"So what happened?" Stiles glanced over to meet Scott's look. He opened his mouth slightly, debating on lying or not. Then he sighed and reached up to scratch the back of his head,

"She thinks she killed someone."

A look of surprise and confusion came over Scott's face and he did a double take — not expecting Stiles's answer. Stiles raised his eyebrows and nodded, knowing how it sounded.

"She showed up at my house last night, in the rain," Stiles started as they walked towards the school, "Completely drenched, babbling about how she killed someone."

"Does Leah remember what happened?" Scott asked, growing concerned.

"No." Stiles shook his head, "All she remembers is waking up in an alley. She only saw the body."

"Then she didn't kill him." Scott simply said as they walked up the stairs.

"Yeah, but she was the only one there." Stiles pointed out, "Just her and the body."

"But there was no blood on her, right?" Scott asked, pulling open the front door. Stiles pulled open the other, stepping inside with his best friend,

"The rain could've washed off the blood." Stiles explained, "Who knows how long she was out in that alley." Scott sighed. He caught Leah walking out of the girls' bathroom in Stiles's lacrosse sweatshirt, a pair of shorts and feet half stuffed in her lacrosse cleats. She didn't notice the boys, heading for the locker room to get ready for practice.

"She didn't kill that guy, Stiles." Scott looked away from Leah and to Stiles.

"I like sixty percent agree with you, man." Stiles admitted, "I mean, just the way she was freaking out and how she can't remember anything." Stiles chewed on his bottom lip, "I don't know." He shrugged, "There's a part of me that thinks she could've." Stiles hated that he could admit that, but it was true. There was a part of him that thought — depending on the situation Leah could be capable of murder. And now, he needed to come up with some sort of alibi to make sure she wouldn't be connected in anyway. He needed to make sure no one knew she was there, or that she didn't leave anything behind. If needed, Stiles was ready to help Leah get away with murder.

"It would've been in self defense." Scott insisted, believing that Leah could never kill someone unless she was in danger. After everything the two had been through with Kate tricking Leah and how upset she was when she almost killed Scott — he knew that Leah wasn't capable of straight up murder. He knew his friends and he knew that they would never kill someone.

"Maybe, man, maybe." Stiles sighed, "Guess we'll just see what the cops find." Stiles's attention was where Leah was walking around the corner, disappearing from sight.

* * *

Stepping out of the girls' locker room, Leah untwisted her bra strap, grumbling to herself. For as sweet as it was for Scott to get her a bra, it wasn't a sports bra, which meant Leah had to go through practice in a regular bra. As she walked for the boys' locker room, she was stopped by someone grabbing onto her arm. Turning around, Leah looked up to see an unfamiliar boy looming above her, looking serious, "What did you see last night?" He seriously asked, staring at her. Leah gaped at him, brow furrowing.

"Sorry, who are you?" Leah asked, trying to wriggle out of his tight grip. The teen looked a little surprised, but his grip didn't falter. Instead he just leaned closer,

"Just tell me what you saw." He insisted.

"I…have no idea what you're talking about." Leah became defensive, using her other hand to try and pull herself out of the guy's grip, but it was no use.

"I saw you in the alley last night." The guy explained, voice low, "Did you kill him? Did you kill my dad?"

"God, dude, I don't know what you're talking about." Leah's stomach started to knot up as she lied to him. She struggled to get out of his grasp, "Let me go."

"Not until you told me what you saw."

"I said, _let me go_." Leah bit out, eyes narrowing as she stared up at him. He opened his mouth to say something else, leaning forward and gripping Leah tighter.

"Dude, she said let go." Leah heard Kyle's voice say.

The guy's head turned to the side, as did Leah's, to see Kyle standing there, looking menacing. Kyle raised his eyebrows, indicating that the guy should listen, which he did — letting Leah go. His eyes darted over to Leah before he turned and walked away from the two, going into the boys' locker room. Leah rubbed her arm as Kyle came up to her.

"What did Lahey want from you?" Kyle asked.

"Lahey?" Leah asked, brows furrowing. Kyle looked down at her,

"Uh, yeah, Isaac Lahey. He's on the lacrosse team?"

"Oh, right." Leah shook her head, pretending like she knew who Kyle was talking about.

"Wow, you get first line and you immediately forget all about your second string buddies." Kyle joked, getting an eye roll from Leah.

"Speaking of second string buddies," Kyle started, "Nice sweatshirt." He glanced down, pulling back to look at the back of the sweatshirt, "You know it's got Stilinski's name on it, right?"

"No it doesn't." Leah seriously said, features dropping. Kyle raised his eyebrows and grinned at her, nodding a bit. "Oh fuck." Leah looked over her shoulder, trying to see the back of the sweatshirt.

"Is there something you wanna tell me, Kane?" Kyle asked, obviously amused at what was happening. Leah made a face and moved her head around, going to pull off the sweatshirt,

"Stiles and I might be…dating." Leah casually said with a shrug. Kyle grinned at her.

"Oh _finally_." Kyle laughed a little, tipping his head back. "That's great, LK. Happy for you."

"Thanks." Leah responded, trying not to smile.

"Okay enough about you." Kyle put his hand out, "My turn. You're not the only one with a little romance in their life."

"Oh really?" Leah asked, raising an eyebrow, a slight smile on her face,

"Her name's Ashley. She's in my Econ class."

"Cute." Leah grinned at him, "Did you ask her out?"

"Study date tonight." Kyle grinned back down at Leah.

"Look at you!" Leah lightly punched his shoulder. Kyle laughed a little, turning red. He reached for the boys' locker room door, pulling it open as he stepped inside before Leah.

"Maybe you and Stiles can double date with us." Leah made a face, looking pained.

"Maybe you should focus on getting her to go out with _you_ first." Leah shrugged. Kyle rolled his eyes, but there was a smile on his face.

"Okay, well, this is me, and I don't think it's appropriate for you to watch me change…all things considering." Kyle slapped his locker door as Leah rolled her eyes, "I'll talk to you later." Kyle bid goodbye to Leah, "Need to hear about these new romantic developments in your life."

"Oh, are we gossip buddies now?" Leah asked.

"Hell yeah." Kyle laughed, "I wanna know all about you and Stiles and this—" Kyle whirled around and hugged himself, so it looked like he was making out with someone. Noises included. Leah rolled her eyes and groaned,

"Bye, Kyle." Leah droned out. Kyle lifted his hand over his shoulder in a wave as Leah walked away from him.

* * *

Connor walked over to Rachel, who was leaning against his car, shoving his phone into his back pocket. He just finished talking with Stiles — and Scott about Leah and the full moon that was currently on the rise. Stiles seemed equally concerned with both Leah and the full moon, but Connor was more concerned about Leah — knowing Scott was going to do a little better this time around.

"I'm not even hired yet and I could get fired for doing this." She stated as Connor got to her. Connor sighed, glancing over to the hospital.

"You didn't have to come." He pointed out, but it was too late — Rachel was already walking away from him. Connor pressed his lips together and blew out a breath, making a raspberry.

Following Rachel, Connor walked through the hospital's main entrance, glancing around in case his dad or Mrs. McCall were on the floor. He didn't want to have to explain why he was heading into the morgue — especially just after the sheriff's department found a body. A body of a person that Leah may or not have murdered.

Connor pointed to where the sign directed to morgue, letting Rachel led them down the stairs and into the basement. Looking around himself, Connor made sure no one was around as Rachel used some sort of thing to open the door to the lab.

"All of these things have practically the same lock." Rachel explained as she stepped into the morgue. Connor immediately grimaced at the smell of death, but composed himself as Rachel went to the examiner table. There was a man's body covered from the waist down with a white sheet. Connor thought he looked familiar, but wasn't sure.

"What am I looking for?" Rachel asked, turning to look at him.

"Uh, what killed him." Connor rocked back on his heels, "Leah thinks she killed him. I just want to make sure she didn't."

"And if she did?" Rachel asked, reaching for a pair of gloves.

"Then we'll deal with it." Connor simply said. Rachel nodded seriously as she pulled on her gloves.

"Well, let's see what we can find." Rachel snapped one of the gloves against her skin before getting to work.

* * *

While Rachel worked on examining the body, Leah leaned against Stiles's lacrosse locker, spotting her friends walk into the locker room — arguing about something.

"All right, I get it! Okay?" Stiles motioned to Scott, "Your secret relationship with Allison is doing _so_ much better than my one with Leah—" Stiles stopped short as he noticed Leah. She stood up a bit straighter and swallowed, her features hardening. Stiles opened his mouth to say something, but Leah didn't let him — chucking his sweatshirt at him before stomping off.

Leah walked down the rows of lockers, half wishing Stiles would follow her, but she knew he wouldn't. What he said was true — and it was Leah's fault. She just needed to figure out whether or not she killed someone.

"Hey, Leah." Leah looked over to see Isaac peering at her from around his locker door. She raised her eyebrows at him, "I, uh, I'm sorry about earlier." Leah didn't respond, crossing her arms over her chest. Isaac closed his locker door, ducking his head down, "I just—I know I saw you there."

"Did you see me kill him?" Leah quietly asked, more curious than anything. If Isaac was there, then maybe he saw what happened.

"No." Isaac shook his head, "All I saw was you by the car, looking at him. You looked pretty freaked."

"Do you think I killed him?" She seriously asked,

"No." Isaac shook his head, quickly glancing at her and then looking back down, "I mean, I don't know. I don't know what happened. I was hoping you did."

"How do I know that you didn't kill him?" Leah asked, falling back on her foot as she looked at Isaac.

"I didn't." Isaac seriously said, eyes flicking up to look at Leah and Leah swore she saw a flash of gold, but it might've just been a trick of the light, "I just saw the aftermath and you by the car. And then you ran away."

"Because I was scared." Leah admitted with a sigh, "I didn't know what happened or how I even got there." She moved her hand around her head.

"Really?" Isaac's brow furrowed. Leah gave him a shrug as Finstock's whistle sounded through the locker room, signaling the start of practice.

* * *

Finishing her examination, Rachel stepped away from the body and looked at Connor, who had been watching her the entire time. She beckoned him over and Connor hesitantly walked over, standing on the opposite side of the table, arms crossed over his chest.

"So it looks like whoever or whatever killed this guy had to have used a pretty big knife or something." Rachel explained, "See these marks up his chest?" Rachel motioned to the deep cuts that went down the man's chest, "They're too deep for a human to just rip apart. There would have to be some sort of thick knife or claws. Leah didn't have anything like that on her, right?"

"No, I don't think so." Connor shook his head, remembering his conversation with Stiles. "Wait did you say _claws_?" Rachel nodded,

"Werewolves are locals in this town," Rachel started, "And these do resemble claw marks…" She trailed off, "It'd have to be a _very large_ werewolf. Or maybe just a were-something." Rachel gave Connor a pointed look, "Did that really not occur to you?"

"I was kind of hoping it would just be your average run of the mill murder." Connor sighed, lifting his hand at the body. Rachel raised her eyebrows, but didn't comment.

"Can I continue?"

"Yeah sure." Connor waved at her, still thinking about the claw comment. Rachel nodded before reaching for the head, turning it to the side.

"And then there's this." She pointed to the incision on the back of the man's neck, "It looks like a needle mark, like someone plunged it into the guy's neck." Connor nodded at the sight and Rachel gently laid the head back down and picked up the man's neck. "Rips and tears all up his arms, there's polyester under his nails." She looked up at Connor, "She said she was near a car, right?"

"Yeah." Connor nodded.

"Make sense. He was killed in his car." Rachel confirmed. "But Leah didn't kill him." She stepped back from the body.

"You're sure?" Connor asked.

"Connor, the injuries this guy had are much too severe for a girl like Leah to create. I don't see any evidence that could lead me to believe that she did this." Rachel stripped off her gloves, throwing them in the trash. Connor smoothed his hand over his hair and let out a relieved sigh. "But something did." Rachel seriously said, eyes serious. Connor nodded, both of them going to pull out their phones. Rachel started taking pictures of the body, while Connor sent a text to Stiles.

* * *

After reading the text from Connor, Stiles felt a weight being lifted off of his shoulders. He looked up to see Leah walking down the hall and he picked up his pace, catching up with her. Leah glanced over at him, then looked away, not saying a word. Stiles knew he messed up, but it wasn't like what he said wasn't true.

"You didn't kill the guy."

"This morning you had a _very_ different opinion." Leah immediately responded, side-eyeing him. Stiles raised his eyebrows and made a face, nodding a bit,

"Opinions change." He looked to Leah, "Especially when faced with facts."

"What kind of facts?" Leah carefully asked.

Stiles turned his phone around to show Leah the texts from Connor. She read them to herself as the two walked to the lacrosse field. He even included pictures of the dead body, making Leah grimace at the sight of it. After, Leah glanced up at Stiles, eyebrows raised slightly,

"There's no way I could've done that." She seriously said. "I don't have claws."

"I know." Stiles nodded. Leah gave him a relieved smile, laughing a bit.

"Oh thank God." Leah pressed her hands to her forehead, "Oh my God."

"Good news, right?" Stiles asked, getting a little happy at Leah's reaction. Leah nodded, sighing in relief. She passed Stiles's phone back to him and turned to face straight ahead, "Hey, I'm sorry you heard me back there." Stiles reached out for Leah, placing a hand on her arm.

"Yeah me too." Leah sighed, "But you were right." Stiles gave her a small smile, "We're just…a work in progress." She finished, getting an eyebrow raise from Stiles,

"Alright, yeah." Stiles nodded.

"Didya tell Scott the plan for tonight?" Leah asked, changing the subject. She was referring to the full moon that was on the rise. Even with their changing relationship, the two had managed to discuss a new plan for Scott's third full moon. It had kept them talking about something other than their relationship.

"More like showed him." Stiles made a face, "The chains came tumbling out of my locker." Stiles motioned with his hands, "Just as Finstock walked by." Leah scoffed as Stiles mimed what happened. "And if that wasn't bad, Scott thinks there's another werewolf." Leah gave Stiles a look as she walked out of the school and towards the lacrosse field.

"And?"

"And I think if he gets close enough, he can figure it out." Stiles nodded, planting his hands on his hips as they walked across the parking lot, "So question is, how can he do that?"

"Make him goalie." Leah shrugged, "That way when the players shoot, they can be close enough to him, right?"

"…Yeah." Stiles nodded, "Yeah that works, I'll go talk to Coach." Stiles quickly leaned over and pecked Leah on the cheek before running down the sidelines of the field, not noticing how surprised Leah looked.

Shaking her head, Leah tried to compose herself, but she couldn't help but smile slightly at Stiles's action. She started walking towards the benches, sitting down next to Scott, who noticed her smile,

"What?" He asked, a small smile appearing at the sight of Leah smiling. To see her smile was a rare occurrence; usually she was always smirking or looking amused — never genuinely smiling.

"Nothing." Leah shook her head, forcing the smile off of her face. "Hey, thanks for the bra." Leah nudged him with her shoulder, changing the subject.

"I liked the bow." Scott played it off, "You doing okay?" He asked, brow furrowing slightly. Leah nodded, eyebrows raising,

"Yeah, especially after we figured out I didn't do it." Leah got Scott to tilt his head, eyebrows raising in surprise. But before Leah could explain, Stiles came running over, tripping over himself as he came to a stop in front of his friends,

"Wha—" Scott started as Stiles shoved the goalie gear into Scott's body,

"I told coach you're switching with Danny for the day." Stiles quickly explained.

"But I hate playing goal." Scott complained, looking through the gear Stiles had given him. Stiles side-eyed Leah, placing his hands on his hips,

"It was Leah's idea." Stiles mumbled, getting a wide eyed look from Leah. Scott glanced to her, eyebrows raised,

"Stiles said he needed some idea for something you two talked about in the locker room." Leah motioned to Stiles, which caused Scott to look back at Stiles, brow furrowing as he tried to remember the conversation. Then his brow relaxed as he got what Leah was talking about.

"Oh." Scott's mouth opened slightly as he nodded.

"There we go." Stiles motioned to Scott, one hand on his hip as he bobbed his head in a nod.

"Wait, so what's the plan?" Scott asked, looking back to Leah. Stiles made a face and glanced to Leah, waiting for her to explain.

"It's moments like these that make me realize that you need me to survive." Leah said, glancing from Scott to Stiles. Scott gave her a lopsided smile as Stiles rolled his eyes. Leah shifted on the bench, leaning forward and telling Scott her plan. It may not have been the best one, but it was the one that would work.

When Coach blew his whistle, Leah and Stiles jogged out to get into line. Scott went over to the goal, pulling his helmet over his head as he went. Stiles got behind Leah, who peered around the line, seeing Scott settle into the goal.

"Do you think this is gonna work?" Stiles whispered from behind Leah.

"I hope so." Leah responded, not turning around.

She watched as one of her teammates stepped up to start the drill. The concept was simple — run the ball past the defensemen and get it into the goal. But Leah's teammate didn't even get a chance to get past the defensemen; Scott came running out of the goal, knocking the player down. Everyone let out a cringed "Ooo" And Leah watched as Scott hovered over the guy, only to back off at the sound of Finstock's whistle.

"McCall!"

"Yeah?" Scott lifted his head up, still practically on top of the other player,

"Usually the goalie stays somewhere within the vicinity of the _actual_ goal." Finstock talked with his hands as Scott scrambled off of the player,

"Yes, coach." Scott nodded, jogging backwards as the other guy got to his feet.

"Let's try it again." Finstock instructed, blowing his whistle to signal the next person.

Scooping up a ball in his cradle, Kyle went charging down the field, headed for the goal. But before he could do anything, Scott came running out of the goal _again_ and slammed into Kyle. The weight and force of Scott throwing himself against Kyle caused the older boy to go down, Scott on top of him. Leah made a face as Scott visibly sniffed around Kyle; that was not what Leah had imagined.

"What the hell, man?" Leah heard Kyle say as Finstock blew his whistle, shouting at Scott.

"Sorry, man." Scott apologized, helping Kyle to his feet. Finstock continued to yell at Scott to stay in the goal and Leah watched as Kyle walked back to the line, shaking his head at Scott's actions.

As the drill continued, Scott kept running out of the goal, slamming into the offense-men and knocking them. He then proceeded to sniff around them and Leah couldn't help but get second hand embarrassment for her best friend. She thought he would be a little more discreet about smelling them, but apparently, she was wrong.

"Stilinski, what the hell is wrong with your friend?" Leah glanced over to see Finstock had grabbed the cage of Stiles's lacrosse helmet and yanked him forward.

"Uh, he's failing two classes." Stiles started, "He's a little socially awkward and if you look close enough, his jaw line's kind of uneven." He finished rambling and Leah followed Finstock's gaze to see Scott sort of bouncing in the goal, waiting for whoever was up next.

"That's interesting." Finstock mused to himself, nodding a bit as Scott slammed the next guy down on the ground. Finstock let go of Stiles's helmet and walked away from the line, ready to yell at Scott again.

Glancing over her shoulder, Leah saw Stiles adjust his helmet. He let out a sigh, meeting her gaze. She raised her eyebrows at Stiles, silently communicating with him. Stiles tilted his head to the side, making a face at her and getting her to roll her eyes at him.

"McCall!" Finstock yelled, making Leah turn back to see Scott scramble off of his latest victim. Her plan was _not_ going well, "You come out of that goal one more time and you'll be doing suicide runs till you die." Finstock threatened, pointing at Scott, "It'll be the first ever suicide run that actually ends in a suicide. Got it?"

"Yes, Coach." Scott bobbed his head in a nod, stepping back into the goal as he twisted his lacrosse stick around in his hands, "Yeah."

"Uh, Coach, my shoulder's hurting." Jackson suddenly called out, eyeing Scott, "I'm gonna — I'm gonna sit this one out." Finstock nodded at Jackson, who jogged out of line. Leah watched him run over to the bench, settling down and taking off his helmet. She was so focused on Jackson, she didn't realize Isaac's heavy, labored breathing. But Stiles did. He smacked his gloved hand against her shoulder, making Leah look over at him.

Motioning, Stiles tried to get Leah to turn around and watch Isaac take off for the ball. She did, and both of them watched as Scott slammed into Isaac. Instead of being knocked down, the two practically flew around in a circle before landing across from each other in crouched positions. The two stared at each other for a moment before Finstock's whistle cut through the air, making them flinch.

Leah saw Scott pick up his head and look over his shoulder, past the line of lacrosse players. She followed his gaze and saw the sheriff walking onto the field, flanked by another deputy and her mom — all of them looking serious.

Her stomach knotted up at the sight of them and her mind instantly went to what happened in the alley; somehow they had figured out she was there. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she watched as Finstock walked up to the sheriff and her mom, not even noticing that Stiles had stepped up next to her. The line disbanded, most of the players heading over to the sidelines of the field, but Stiles stayed next to her, glancing from her to their parents. Leah couldn't tear her eyes away from the adults, wishing so badly she could hear what they were saying. Stiles tried to get her attention, but she ignored him,

"Isaac's the other werewolf." Scott said as he stepped up to his friends. _He_ got Leah's attention, her head turning in sync with Stiles's to look at him. The three of them started to walk off of the field,

"You sure?" Stiles asked, getting a nod from Scott. Leah looked away from the boys to see Finstock going up to Isaac. Their lacrosse coach led Isaac over to the sheriff and Leah paused, turning to watch along with the rest of the lacrosse team.

"His father's dead." Scott's brow furrowed as he listened in to the conversation between Isaac and the sheriff. "They think he was murdered." Leah's stomach began to twist up again; they had found and identified the body. Memories of the man's body flashed in Leah's mind and she swallowed hard, trying to keep her cool,

"Are they saying he's a suspect?" Stiles asked as the sheriff and Tara walked off the lacrosse field with Isaac,

"I'm not sure, why?" Scott asked, looking to Stiles. He noticed Leah was being unusually quiet and it took him a second to realize the body she found must've been Isaac's dad.

"Because they can lock him in a holding cell for twenty-four hours." Stiles explained, watching his dad disappear with Isaac and Leah's mom.

"Like, overnight?"

"During the full moon." Stiles nodded, glancing over to Leah, seeing that there was an uneasy expression on her face,

"How good are these holding cells at holding people?" Scott asked, raising his eyebrows at Stiles.

"People, good." Stiles bobbed his head in a nod, "Werewolves…" Stiles tilted his head to the side, "probably not that good." He met Scott's look, giving a shrug.

"Stiles, remember when I said I don't have the urge to maim and kill?" Scott seriously said. Leah looked up at him as Stiles responded,

"Yeah."

"He does." Scott answered his own question, still serious. At the same time, all three of them looked to where Isaac walked off with the sheriff and the other deputies.

* * *

 _A/N: Any questions, comments, concerns or cries of outrage?_


	6. A Change of Plans

As the bell rang, Leah gathered up her books and reached down for her backpack, slinging it over her shoulder. She walked out of her history class, maneuvering her backpack over to the side of her body so she could shove her books into it.

"Leah!" The sound of Lydia's voice didn't stop Leah, but in fact made her want to pick up her pace. She heard the quick clicks of Lydia's heels and Leah forced herself not to look over her shoulder, "Leah!" Leah took in a deep breath and then stopped suddenly — figuring she should get whatever hellish torture Lydia was ready to deliver over with.

" _What?"_ Leah groaned out, turning around to face Lydia, head dropping back. Lydia took in a breath and straightened out her jacket,

"I just wanted to tell you something." Lydia primly said, making Leah tilt her head side to side, cracking her neck,

"Please just spit it out." Leah sighed, "I have class."

" _Fine._ " Lydia made her eyes wide, arms crossing over her chest, "I just…wanted to say thank you."

"For what?" Leah asked, a bit caught off guard. She wasn't used to Lydia talking to her, let alone _thanking her_. Leah was ready for the punchline, eyeing Lydia carefully as Lydia looked around herself.

"For that night. At formal on the lacrosse field." Lydia whispered as if she didn't want anyone else to hear she was having a genuine conversation with Leah. Leah pulled back from Lydia, eyebrows raising slightly,

"Oh, right." Leah began to play it off, "It was nothing, don't mention it." Leah went to walk away from Lydia, only to have Lydia fall into step next to her,

"I don't remember much about that night, but I was told that you—"

"I said _don't mention it_." Leah cut Lydia off, "Okay? So don't mention it." Leah stated, looking over to Lydia, "Seriously." She made it clear that Lydia needed to drop it and never pick it back up again, "And—and just for the record," Leah started, brow furrowing, Lydia stopped walking and Leah turned around to face her, walking backwards, "I didn't do it for you. I did it for me." Leah made a face, scoffing to herself.

Turning away from Lydia, Leah walked away from her and into her next class. She really didn't want to talk to Lydia about any of the events that had happened during formal. It didn't change anything between her and Lydia — Leah wasn't just going to magically become friends with her or hang out with her. She had enough problems to deal with without Lydia being in her life even more so than she already was.

These problems included Isaac Lahey not only being the newest werewolf in Beacon Hills, but also being taken away for his father's murder. After practice ended, Stiles and Scott ended up in the principal's office, trying to find out if the sheriff's department believed that Isaac was a suspect.

* * *

"So you really think this kid's a suspect?" Rachel asked, looking over to Connor.

The two of them were investigating Isaac Lahey's house — after Rachel had finished looking over the body, she found a file that had the victim's name on it. They connected the dots and realized that the teen they had met in the subway station was the victim's son. Connor knew how murder investigations went and wanted to see for himself if Isaac had any reason to kill his father.

"Not sure. But if there's anything thing in this house that could lead the cops to believe that he could kill his dad, we need to find it." Connor answered, glancing over his shoulder.

"Why teenagers?" Rachel asked, changing the subject and looking over to Derek who had met them at the house,

"They're more accepting of the bite." Derek simply responded, not wanting to get into it. But Rachel did,

"Because they're younger?" She asked, "Is it like health wise?"

"Something like that." Derek huffed. Rachel gave him a confused look, not understanding why he was acting so cold towards her.

During the short time she had been in town, Rachel and Derek had hooked up a few more times after their first encounter. Of course, it had been nothing more than just sex, but it had become a regular occurrence. Rachel had believed they were on acquaintance terms — at least acknowledging each other outside of the bedroom. But Derek hadn't even said hello to her when he had gotten to the Lahey house. Rachel had to admit, she was getting a little annoyed; her past hookups never acted like this towards her before. Maybe it was a werewolf thing.

"Do you ask first? Or do you just do it?" Rachel continued her line of questions, getting a deep sigh from Derek. He gave a pointed look to Connor, wanting a subject change. Connor looked in between Derek and Rachel and then shook his head, knowing it was no use.

Not responding to Rachel, Derek stepped past her, following Connor into the house. Rachel let out a huff and stomped through the hallway, getting to the kitchen. There was broken glass everywhere and it looked like some sort of fight had broken out. Rachel noticed how Derek's head tilted to the side, almost like he realized something.

"What?" Connor asked, also noticing Derek's motion. Derek didn't respond, turning away from the kitchen and going for a door in the hallway. Connor and Rachel exchanged a glance before watching Derek open up the door. He looked over his shoulder at the other two for a split second before walking down the stairs.

"Do we follow him orrr…?" Rachel trailed off, looking back at Connor. Connor ignored her and went after Derek, answering Rachel's question. Rachel sighed and crossed her arms over her chest, following after the boys.

The basement was eerily dark and quiet for being the middle of the day. There was practically no light and Rachel glanced around for a light switch as Connor and Derek examined the basement. Finding one, Rachel turned the lights on, seeing them flicker for a moment. The light illuminated a freezer that was against the wall, humming slightly.

Derek stepped over to it, looking it over for a moment before opening it. Rachel saw his jaw clench at whatever was inside and she couldn't help but want to investigate it for herself. She stepped up to Derek, brushing against him as she looked into the freezer.

There were scrapes up and down the sides of the freezer, stained red from blood. Whoever was trapped in the freezer tried to get out so many times that their fingers started to bleed from scratching at the icy walls. Rachel let her eyes trail over the freezer, noticing how many scratches there were and she put two and two together.

"He was abused." Rachel quietly said, feeling her heart go out to the kid, even though she didn't even know him. She rarely felt sorry for people, but this felt personal, "His father locked him this freezer and tormented him." Rachel's voice became cold as she spoke.

Neither Connor or Derek said a thing, Derek stepping back from the freezer as Rachel continued to stare into the freezer. The kid, Isaac, was one who she had met quite briefly and she chalked him up to being the quiet one, never commenting on Rachel being in the subway station or asking very many questions. He seemed shy and nervous whenever she was around.

His father was supposed to be someone Isaac trusted and loved, but instead his father used and abused him. Rachel swallowed the lump in her throat and suddenly slammed the lid of the freezer, making Connor and Derek jump at the sound. They watched as she whirled around, stomping past them and going up the stairs. Exchanging a look, Derek raised his eyebrows at Connor, silently wondering what happened. Connor took in a breath and went after Rachel, getting to the top of the stairs as Rachel stormed out of the house.

"That son of a bitch deserved whatever killed him." Rachel seriously said as Connor stepped up to her. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she refused to look at Connor. Connor nodded and reached out to Rachel, only to have her shrug him off, "I'm fine." Her tone was still the same, warning Connor to leave her be.

At the sound of the front door closing, Rachel and Connor turned to see Derek step out of the house. He walked over to them and Rachel shrugged off her reaction, a cool look coming over her face as she acted unfazed. Raising her eyebrows at Derek, Rachel spoke first,

"Did you know?" She asked, indicating to the house with her head.

"Some." Derek nodded, "It's why he came to me." Rachel eyed him, getting Derek to continue, "Everyone wants power."

"But not everyone deserves it." Rachel added, sounding once again like she was speaking from experience. Derek nodded slightly, agreeing with her. Rachel licked her lips and looked away from Derek, glancing at Connor, "What now?"

"I have to go to the school." Derek spoke up, "Make sure they don't arrest Isaac."

"That's some pretty damning evidence." Connor said, nodding to the house, "That whole house is a motive." Derek nodded, but didn't respond. "They're gonna take him. But you need to get him out before tonight." Connor reminded Derek.

"Tonight's a full moon, isn't it?" Rachel asked, looking in between the men. Derek nodded slightly.

"He can't control the shift." Derek's voice was low and still in that same serious tone.

"So he's gonna turn into a werewolf in the middle of a police station." Rachel stated, arms recrossing over her chest.

"Not unless I can do something about it." Derek's eyes met Rachel's. Without another word, he walked past the two and Rachel turned to watch him go.

"We don't follow him this time, right?" Rachel asked, glancing over to Connor. Connor shook his head in response and Rachel looked back at where Derek's Camaro was racing off.

"You guys aren't a thing, right?" Connor suddenly asked, getting Rachel's attention.

"Uh, no." Rachel stated, "Just sex." She shrugged, playing it off. Connor made a face, not really needing to know that part.

* * *

"Just doing my part, I guess." Stiles sighed as he and Leah walked down the hallway. Leah gave him a side-eyed look, not falling for his self-pity trick.

The two of them were walking down the hall at the end of the school day — Stiles had just finished telling Leah that his trip to the principal's office got him detention with Harris. This in turn, ruined their full moon plans, which were already technically ruined with the whole Isaac situation.

"What did you think would happen?" Leah asked, "You just _wouldn't_ get detention?"

"Uh, kinda." Stiles made his eyes wide at her and Leah shook her head in response, sort of amused by Stiles's trail of thought. "Anyway, that's not the worst part." Leah raised her eyebrows at Stiles, waiting for him to continue, "The new principal is Allison's _grandfather._ " Leah's brow furrowed and she turned to look at Stiles, putting a hand out,

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, Allison thinks that it's all part of her family trying to integrate more hunters into the town. You know, to take down any werewolves." Stiles paraphrased his conversation with Allison to Leah.

"So he probably already knows about Isaac." Leah said, mostly to herself. Stiles nodded, "Wait, do you think he knows about Scott?" Leah suddenly asked, looking back at Stiles.

"No, I don't think so." Stiles shook his head. Leah nodded, semi-relieved.

"Speaking of, where is he?" Leah asked, brow furrowing a bit. Stiles took in a breath and waved his hand around in the air,

"He bolted from the principal's office to try and stop Isaac from being taken away and then Derek showed up so I have no idea where they went." Stiles sighed, pulling in his lips and giving her a raised eyebrow look.

"Great." Leah sighed, looking away from Stiles and kicking her foot out.

"Allison's gonna see what her dad and grandfather know about Isaac. See if they're planning anything for tonight." Stiles continued. Leah nodded, "We still need to help Scott with the full moon tonight."

"I can get everything ready while you're in detention." Leah offered, getting a nod from Stiles. "The chains are in your locker, right?"

"No, I gave them to Allison. She wanted to help tonight." Leah nodded as the two of them stopped walking. They were in front of Harris's classroom where Stiles was supposed to report for detention. Stiles took in a breath, not knowing what to say next.

"Hey! Leah!" Both Leah and Stiles turned to see Matt jogging down the hall, coming to a stop in front of them. He glanced at Stiles, giving him a small head nod as a greeting before looking back to Leah, "I'm glad I caught you." He gave her a smile, "Are we still on for today?"

"Uh, excuse me?" Stiles butted in, squinting at Matt. Both Leah and Matt glanced at Stiles —Leah raised her eyebrows at him while Matt let out a small laugh,

"We're just working on a project, man." Matt reached over to pat Stiles's shoulder, getting Stiles to jerk back. Matt eyed him for a moment before looking back to Leah, "You forgot, didn't you?"

"No!" Leah quickly responded, even though she totally did, "I thought you forgot and I just figured we'd see each other tomorrow." Leah turned the tables on Matt. Matt fell back on his foot, hand going to his backpack strap.

"Well, I didn't." Matt raised his eyebrows, "So…"

"Okay, then let's go." Leah twisted her hips around, "I'll meet you in the library." She gave him a small smile and Matt nodded, glancing at Stiles one last time before walking away from him.

"Uh, what the fuck?" Stiles hissed out, turning to Leah, "What project?"

"It's for psychology, okay?" Leah hissed back, "He asked if I wanted to work with him, I said fine, it doesn't mean anything." She quickly explained, "Don't do this."

"Do what?" Stiles asked back, "I don't like the kid!"

"You don't like anyone." Leah snapped back. Stiles paused, raising his eyebrows a bit and making a face,

"Well, yeah, okay. That's true."

"It's just homework." Leah reached out to rub Stiles's arms, "I'm not planning on doing anything with him." She gave him a knowing look, "But it's cute how protective you got." Leah smirked at him as Stiles tried to play it off. "Don't do it again." Leah pointed at him, becoming serious, "I can take care of myself."

"Yep, yeah." Stiles bobbed his head in a nod.

"Text me when you're out of detention." Leah gave him a smile and stepped back from Stiles.

"Have fun with _Matt_." Stiles sounded disgusted and Leah raised her eyebrows at him. Stiles grumbled to himself, getting an eye roll from Leah. She stepped by him and Stiles watched her walk away from him, waiting until she disappeared around the corner.

Walking into the library, Leah spotted Matt setting up his things at one of the tables. She gave him a small smile to his wave as she headed towards him. Settling her things down, Leah pulled out the chair across from Matt and sat down. The two were quiet for a moment as Leah took her books out of her backpack, flipping them open to the page she needed,

"Uh, so you and Stilinski…" Matt started, trailing off. Leah glanced over to him, seeing him tap his pen against his notebook. She raised her eyebrows at him, daring him to continue, "Are you two together?" Matt asked, brow furrowing.

"Why do you care?" Leah asked, leaning forward. Matt gave her a small smile, letting out a little laugh,

"Just curious." He shrugged, "Always you two hated each other." Leah gave him a tight smile, not confirming or denying Matt's theory. They weren't friends — Leah didn't feel the need to tell him about her relationship with Stiles.

"How bout we focus on this project rather than my relationship status." Leah raised her eyebrows at him, motioning to their books. Matt nodded at her, agreeing as he shifted forward in his seat.

Time passed as Matt and Leah worked on their project. The concept was simple enough — they were discussing flashbulb memory versus semantic form of recollections. It was more of an informational presentation rather than an experiment; their teacher was all about getting the students involved in the classroom.

At one point, Leah's phone lit up with a text and she hoped it was Stiles, telling her he was out of detention, but it was a text from Allison. Matt shifted in his seat, leaning forward a bit.

"What's up?" He asked, noticing Leah's brow furrowing at the text.

"Oh, nothing, it was just Allison." Leah shook her head and placed her phone down on the table, only to have it light up again.

"Seems important." Matt noticed, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah." Leah played it off as she swiped the message away, not wanting Matt to see what Allison had texted her. It was in the group chat with her and Stiles; something about her dad and grandfather asking her questions about Lydia.

"How is she doing?" Matt asked, "I mean, after everything with her aunt?"

"Fine." Leah shrugged, not wanting to get into it. Matt nodded, giving her a quick smile. Matt's phone buzzed and he reached for it, reading the text and then glancing at Leah,

"I actually have to get going." Matt pushed back in his chair, "I just was reminded that I need to drop something off to someone." Leah eyed Matt, noting how vague he was being, "It's not drugs or anything, it's just a camera." Matt quickly backtracked. Leah nodded slowly at him as Matt began to pack up his things, "We can finish this tomorrow?"

"Sure." Leah made a face, perfectly fine with being done; she had more time to get everything ready for the full moon. Matt nodded, giving her a smile before walking out of the library.

Leah got her things together and stood up from her chair. Hiking her backpack up on her shoulder, Leah pushed in her chair and walked out of the library. While she walked down the hall, Leah checked her phone, unaware of how late it had gotten. Luckily, her and Matt had all about finished their project so hopefully they wouldn't have to do much the next time they met.

She did wonder if Stiles had gotten out of detention yet and she went to text him. But before she did, a classroom door opened and Stiles stormed out, muttering to himself. Leah perked up at the sight of him and hurried over to him, lightly punching his shoulder as she got to him,

"Fancy seeing you here." She grinned at him, getting a slight laugh from Stiles, "Are you _just_ getting out of detention?"

"Uh huh." Stiles made his eyes wide and bobbed his head,

"Rough." Leah made a face.

"I swear, it brings him pleasure or something." Stiles tipped his head back, "And he had my phone the whole time." Stiles complained as he reached for his phone. Leah leaned closer to Stiles as he showed her the group chat Allison had started with the two of them. She saw the same messages that were on her phone - that her dad and grandfather were questioning her about Lydia, and that Allison really needed to talk to them about what was happening.

"Yeah, not good." Leah made a face, "Okay, change of plans. Call Allison, I'm gonna go get the chains for Scott." Stiles's brow furrowed, but before he could say anything, Leah continued talking, "I haven't heard anything from him, have you?"

"Uh, no…" Leah felt herself start to worry

"Okay, I'll call him." She placed a hand on Stiles's arm. "I'll see you later." Stiles went to tell Leah that the chains were already taken care of, but Leah had already turned away, going down the hall. Stiles stepped to go after her, but his phone rang with an incoming call from Allison. He glanced from the phone to Leah before letting out a huff and answering Allison's call.

* * *

Heading into the locker room, Leah glanced down at her phone to see Stiles's locker combination on her phone from earlier in the day. She copied the numbers and pulled the lock off, only to see that the locker was completely empty. Her brow furrowed and Leah peered around, looking for the duffel of chains. Stepping back, Leah went to text Stiles only to have her phone light up with a call from Scott,

"Hey, where are you?" Leah answered, half wanting to yell at him for going MIA, but half wanting to make sure she got to him before the full moon rose completely.

" _At Isaac's_." Scott responded, " _It's too late for me to go anywhere. Derek went to go get Isaac out of the cell, but he's gonna need Stiles's help."_

"Stiles is gonna love that." Leah sarcastically said, "Listen, I couldn't find the chains in Stiles's locker but—"

" _Stiles gave them to Allison."_ Scott cut Leah off, " _Remember?"_

"Uh, no, but that's probably because he just didn't tell me." Leah sighed, "Do you have a plan?"

" _There's a freezer in the basement. We can use the chains to lock me in there so I don't hurt anyone."_

"Well, that's…" Leah let out a sigh, knowing it wasn't a good plan, but she didn't have time to think of a better one - they were running out of time as it was, "Our best option I guess." She paused as she walked out of the locker room, "Okay, I'm coming. Are you okay right now?"

" _Yeah."_ Scott let out a breath, " _Just hurry, okay?"_

Leah nodded, even though Scott couldn't see her, and then hung up the phone. Shoving her phone into her pocket, Leah started jogging down the hallway.

* * *

Peering around the corner, Tara Kane glanced down the hallway of the sheriff's station, making sure everything was still the same as it was five minutes before. Even though she had been cleared to come back to work, Noah instructed that she start slowly, which meant front desk duty. Usually Tara didn't mind front desk duty; it gave her a chance to get caught up on her files, but since she had the baby, Tara didn't have any files to get caught up on. So she was a little bored.

She had already done her rounds, making sure the Lahey kid was still in his holding cell. He seemed a little tense and Tara figured it was because of the situation he was in. All signs pointed to Isaac being the one who murdered his father, but Tara would need to wait until the sheriff and a few other deputies got back from investigating the house.

At the sound of the front door opening, Tara walked from the office to the front desk, flipping through Isaac's file as she went, "Good evening, how can I help you?" Tara asked.

She looked up from the file to see Derek Hale standing on the opposite side of the desk, giving her a charming grin. Tara dropped the folder and crossed her arms over her chest, raising her eyebrows at Derek.

"Derek Hale…" She trailed off, "To what do I owe the pleasure?" She asked as Derek leaned against the front desk.

"Hi, Mrs. Kane." Derek's smile didn't falter, "I didn't know you were back at work. Connor told me about the baby." He motioned to her, "Congratulations."

"Thank you, Derek." Tara raised her eyebrows at him, "Is there something I can help you with?" Tara didn't have a problem with Derek; she had always known him to be a sweet kid, but she was a little wary as to why he was standing in the sheriff's station only a few days after being exonerated.

"I was uh, just—" Derek was cut off by the desk phone ringing. Tara held up a finger to him and reached over to answer the phone. Derek glanced around himself, seeing that there was no sign of Stiles.

"Derek, I'll be right back, okay?" Tara said, pressing her hand to her the phone, "Just stay here." She instructed, setting the phone down and stepping into the office.

* * *

Stepping into the kitchen, Allison put her dead flashlight down on the counter. She let out a breath and tried to calm herself down. She had just locked her werewolf boyfriend in a freezer on a full moon. Pulling out her phone, Allison checked for any new texts from Leah; she was supposed to meet them at the house to help Allison with Scott but she had yet to show up.

As Allison got control of her breathing, she heard something hissing behind her. She covered her mouth with her hand, trying to make herself more quiet so she could actually tell if there was something in the house with her. The hissing got louder and Allison slowly looked towards the noise, letting out a scream at the sight of some sort of lizard monster hanging from the ceiling. The lizard's head flicked towards her, it's beady yellow eyes glaring at her. Allison took in a shaky breath and took a few steps backward before glancing to the side. She saw a knife block sitting on the counter and immediately reached for one,

"Come on!" She shouted at it, wielding the knife, "Come on!" Allison taunted it, ready to fight it.

But before she could do anything, the basement door suddenly exploded and Scott came tumbling out. He landed in a crouch in front of Allison, letting out a roar and effectively scaring the lizard monster. It scuttled away from them and out of the house.

Scott and Allison ran to follow it, seeing it disappear into the night, "What the hell was that?" Allison quietly asked.

"I don't know." Scott responded, truly confused at the sight of whatever that was supposed to be.

* * *

At the sound of the fire alarm, Tara walked back out front, seeing there was no sign of Derek. She stepped around the desk and pushed open the front door, trying to see if he was outside, but he was nowhere to be found. Hurrying back inside, Tara walked down the hall, meeting the sheriff and the rest of the deputies from where they came through the side entrance from the parking lot. Noah turned the fire alarm off and Tara went to the holding cell room, wanting to make sure Isaac was still there.

But when she got there, all she saw was Stiles standing in the middle of the room, an unconscious deputy by his feet. The holding cell was open and empty, and Tara let out a deep sigh as Stiles turned to them.

"Uh, he did it." Stiles lamely said, pointing to the deputy. Both Tara and the sheriff fixed him with unamused looks. The sheriff stepped forward, crossing his arms over his chest as he raised his eyebrows at his son,

"You wanna tell me what happened?"

Stiles let out a sigh, slumping down, "I don't _know_. I just came in through the back, heard the fire alarm ringing and came in here to see this." Stiles gestured lazily to the room. Both the sheriff and Tara eyed him for a moment before the sheriff turned back to look at Tara,

"Get an APB out on Isaac Lahey." He instructed, getting a nod from Tara, "I'll handle Stiles." Stiles audibly groaned as Tara turned away from the Stilinski men, walking to her desk.

* * *

Back at the Lahey house, Scott and Allison were in the basement, gathering up the chains. It had been a few minutes since the lizard monster disappeared and the two decided it would be better to get out before it came back.

A noise above them made Scott stop putting the chains into the duffel and glance up. Allison noticed, watching as Scott pushed out of his crouch. She stood up and looked up at the ceiling, jumping at the sound of something crash to the ground.

"Do you think it's back?" Allison whispered as Scott put a hand out to protect her.

"I hope not." Scott quietly said, moving towards the stairs. Allison followed him, both of them walking up the stairs — trying to be quiet as they moved.

Stepping through the broken wood of the door, Scott looked around the hallway, moving to the side to let Allison step up next to him. Allison reached for Scott's hand and the two moved towards where Scott had heard the crash.

Suddenly, a figure stepped around the corner, startling both Scott and Allison, "God, I'm so sorry I'm late." Allison let out a relieved breath at the sound of Leah's voice. "I had to run all the way here because my mom's back at work so she has the car now and I thought Connor would be home but…" Her voice trailed off as she noticed Scott letting his eyes flutter shut as he tried to calm himself down.

"You guys okay?" Leah asked, looking concerned at her friend's reactions.

"Yeah, we're fine." Allison gave her a warm smile, "Just had a little incident earlier." Leah made a face, pulling her chin to her chest, eyes going wide. Scott and Allison shared a look with each other, both remembering the lizard monster on the ceiling.

"What the fuck happened?" Leah asked, looking in between Scott and Allison.

* * *

 _A/N: Questions, comments, concerns or cries of outrage?_


	7. Wolfsbane Baked Goods

"Okay, but you didn't see it." Stiles stated, flattening his hands out.

"No." Leah shook her head, walking over to sit on the edge of her bed where Stiles had been laying on his stomach.

It had gotten pretty late into the night — after being questioned by both his dad and Tara, Stiles had been let go with strict instructions to go home, which Stiles ignored. Instead, he went over to Leah's house after getting a text from Leah trying to explain what apparently had happened in the Lahey house. The text didn't make sense and Stiles believed Leah would tell the story better in person, but she had ended up confusing him more.

"I got there and it was already gone." Leah continued,

"But you didn't see it run out of the house?"

"No." Leah shook her head. Stiles paused for a moment before pushing himself up into a sitting position, still behind Leah.

"And it had a _tail?"_ Stiles asked, making a face.

"Apparently." Leah lifted her hand up and then let it drop against her lap.

The two lapsed into silence, both of them trying to picture the creature Leah had described to Stiles. She was going off what Allison and Scott had told her — that it was lizard like, had glowing eyes and a tail.

"There's no way it was a werewolf." Leah seriously said, turning her head slightly to look over her shoulder at Stiles. His eyes met hers,

"Then what the hell was it?" Stiles responded, just as serious.

Connor rapped his knuckles against Leah's doorframe, making both Stiles and Leah look to the door. After Stiles and Leah had become official there was a strict _no closed doors_ rule put in place by Drew. Leah knew it was only temporary, but figured she might as well go along with it so there weren't any problems.

Stiles tried to subtly move away from Leah, but Connor caught the movement. He didn't comment; he had more important things to take care of.

"Just got back from Deaton's," Connor started, coming into the bedroom. Leah shifted, moving so she was sitting cross legged on her bed. Stiles moved over so he was laying on his stomach, next to Leah, watching as Connor pulled Leah's desk chair over to end of the bed. In Connor's hands was a small brown, paper bag.

"The vet?" Stiles asked, brow furrowing.

"He's not just a vet." Connor side eyed Stiles, "He gave me something that should help." Connor continued, unrolling the bag, "You know, up here." Connor tapped his finger to his temple while his other hand reached inside to pull out the small, glass jar with some sort of symbol on it.

"Apparently it's a type of wolfsbane that werewolves use to get memories back after they're taken or covered up. Figured we might as well try it." Connor explained, holding the jar in between his two fingers. He tentatively handed it out to Leah, who eyed it for a moment before taking it.

"Am I just supposed to eat it?" Leah asked, brow furrowing. "Is it even edible?"

"Some forms of wolfsbane are poisonous." Stiles pointed out, getting a look from Leah and Connor let out a sigh,

"It's edible." He nodded, "Trust me, I checked. We can bake it into something."

"Like weed brownies." Stiles joked, grinning. His joke landed flat with the Kane siblings and he immediately noticed. Pulling the corners of his mouth down, Stiles tilted his head to the side, "Or not. Maybe just like cupcakes or bread or whatever." Leah rolled her eyes at Stiles, turning back to her brother,

"And this is supposed to help get my memories back." She stated, shaking the jar slightly.

"Hopefully." Connor nodded, "Maybe even keep you from forgetting anything else." Leah screwed her mouth to the side and glanced over to Stiles,

"I have some cookie dough chilling in the fridge. I was gonna use it this weekend but…do you want dessert before you go?"

"Uh…wolfsbane baked goods?" Stiles asked, raising his eyebrows up. Leah matched his expression and Stiles immediately started nodding, "Yep, yeah, of course."

"Good." Leah grinned at him and moved to get off the bed.

Sighing, Stiles used his hand to push himself up — Leah had already left the bedroom, leaving Stiles with Connor. Connor slid back in Leah's desk chair, spinning around so his back was to Stiles. Stiles moved off of the bed, wanting to get out of the bedroom before Connor said anything to him.

"Hey, Stiles." Stiles paused, cursing himself for not moving faster.

"Yeah, man?" Stiles asked, hands on his hips as he turned around. Connor pushed out of the chair and stepped over to Stiles, crossing his arms over his chest.

"We don't need to have that…you know _protective older brother_ talk, right?"

"I would, uh, very much like it if we didn't." Stiles bobbed his head in a nod, "I think I can figure it out for myself."

"Great." Connor grinned at him, going to walk past him. He placed a hand on Stiles's shoulder, turning his face to look at Stiles, "Cause we both know I'm not the one you have to worry about if you hurt her." Stiles raised his eyebrows and turned to meet Connor's eyes.

"Yeah, well, aware." Connor gave him a smile and patted Stiles's shoulder before walking out of the bedroom.

As soon as Stiles heard Connor's footsteps on the stairs, Stiles slumped over, letting out a breath he wasn't even aware he was holding. Turning, Stiles walked out of Leah's bedroom, talking to himself as he walked down the stairs.

When Stiles got to the kitchen, Connor and Leah were discussing whatever thing was in the Lahey house with Allison and Scott the night before. Stiles and Leah already talked about it during the school day — Stiles adding on what happened to him in the sheriff's station.

"Okay, I'll look into it." Connor patted the counter of the island, "See what I can find." Leah nodded at him.

"And maybe tell your best friend to chill with turning of murder suspects." Stiles added on, scratching his forehead.

"I don't have any control over who he turns or doesn't." Connor answered Stiles as he turned away from Leah. "And frankly, he needs a pack." Connor glanced over to Leah, "As does Scott. Omegas don't survive very long on their own." Connor seriously said, giving words of advice rather than making it sound like a threat. He was worried for Scott, but he understood why Scott wasn't too keen on joining up with Derek — Derek had killed Scott's only chance at getting rid of the werewolf curse.

"Let me know when the cookies are done." Connor said in parting, going to walk past Stiles and then heading for the stairs.

Leah glanced over the island at Stiles, giving him a small smile. Stiles stepped up to the island and settled onto one of the stools. He reached for the jar, turning it over in his hands as Leah started to hand mix together the cookie dough.

"It does kinda look like weed." Stiles mused to himself.

"Oh, yeah, it does." Leah agreed, laughing to herself, "I don't even know how it'll bake in so I'm only making a few cookies."

"Good plan." Stiles raised his eyebrows at her, placing the jar down and starting his arms out, "Uh, okay, so question." He tapped his hands on the counter.

"Answer." Leah responded immediately, getting a small scoff from Stiles. She turned back from the stove where she had been boiling some of the wolfsbane to get it to liquify.

"Do you wanna do something Friday night?" He swallowed, looking up to meet Leah's eyes.

"Like what? Study?"

"No, like…something fun."

"Studying isn't fun to you?" Leah joked, a half smile on her face as Stiles rolled his eyes. Turning away, Leah checked the pot before flipping the burner off. She carefully poured the liquified wolfsbane into the cookie dough bowl before setting the pot in the sink.

"I meant like a date." Stiles blurted out, getting a surprised response from Leah.

"A date?" Leah asked brow furrowing as if the concept was unknown to her. Stiles rolled his head back, getting annoyed at how difficult Leah was making it.

"Yeah like that thing couples do?" Stiles raised his eyebrows up.

"I know what a date is, Coleslaw." Leah laughed to herself, mixing together the cookie dough and liquid wolfsbane "I just…didn't know we were there yet."

"Oh…" Stiles trailed off, "Do you want to be there?" Leah shrugged and made a face,

"Yeah, I'd be cool with going out." She scooped a spoonful of the cookie dough into her hand, molding it into a ball before placing it onto the cookie sheet, "What were you thinking of doing?"

"I haven't…gotten that far, _yet_." Stiles raised his fingers up, making a point to add the _yet_. "Just wanted you to say yes first." Leah gave him an amused scoff as she finished making the cookie balls.

"Then yes." She said, setting the bowl to the side. Stiles reached over to drag his finger around the side of the bowl, only to have Leah stop him.

"Really wanna risk getting sick?"

"Always." Stiles grumbled, but obliged. Leah didn't both responding, going to clean up her mess, setting everything in the sink and the going around to standing next to Stiles.

While Stiles continued to spin the bowl, Leah walked around the island, leaning her elbows against the counter. She looked down at whatever magazine her mom had left on the island before she felt Stiles's arm snake around her waist and gently tug her closer to him. Leah turned to look at him, already unamused at whatever he was planning. He gave her an innocent look, shifting on the stool before looking back at the bowl.

After the two made their relationship official, Stiles had become more touchy feely with Leah — something she wasn't complaining about, but it still surprised her nonetheless. But they had kept their touches strictly PG and strictly in private. In school, no one knew the two were together except for the people who mattered. To everyone else, Stiles and Leah had just stopped constantly arguing, moving onto off the cuff remarks and light teasing. They still acted the same around each other — just with more touches and kisses. But they had yet to go out on an official first date, thanks to mysterious supernatural creatures.

Leah sighed and stepped out of Stiles's grasp, walking around the island to check the cookies. She turned away from the oven, stepping back up to the island and placing her hands against the counter,

"Should we invite Scott and Allison out Friday night too?" Leah asked, getting an eyebrow raise from Stiles,

"Why—why would we do that?"

"Because of the whole _can't see each other_ thing."

"Oh, right, that." Stiles took in a breath and made a face. He wanted it to be just the two of them — make it their first official date, but he ended up saying "Yeah I guess." Agreeing with Leah, which was something he never thought he would be okay with doing.

Leah gave him a small smile and nodded, turning away from him to start to clean up the kitchen. Stiles played with his fingers, cursing himself for making his date into a double date. He had to admit, it was a little weird seeing Leah think of someone other than herself for once. In all the years he'd known her, she had always put herself first. But Stiles figured she was doing it for Scott, who obviously was more important than she was — and in exactly the same position of importance that Scott was in Stiles's life.

Pulling out the cookies, Leah set the pan on top of the stove. The kitchen suddenly smelled like chocolate chip cookies, but with a hint of something sour. When she turned back around, she was startled by the sight of Stiles sitting on the stool.

"Fuck me." Leah sighed out, getting a smirk from Stiles,

"I'd like to." Stiles gave her a knowing look as Leah rolled her eyes,

"I meant, I forgot you were still here." Stiles raised his eyebrows at her, getting Leah to backtrack, "Not like that…"

"You sure?"

"Yes." Leah nodded, "We were just talking about inviting Allison and Scott on our date." Stiles nodded at her, following her with his eyes as she walked around the island, "Before that we were talking about weed brownies." She stepped up to him, going in between his legs and wrapping her arms around his neck. Stiles's hands went to rest at her hips, "And before that we were upstairs talking about the newest supernatural threat to our town." She tilted her head at him, "Did I pass?"

"For now." Stiles nodded at her, rolling his lips in before leaning forward.

Planting a kiss on her lips, Stiles felt her smile against him. She kissed him back for a moment before pulling away and turning away from him. Stiles blinked a bit before closing his mouth and letting his hands drop from her hips.

Leah moved away from Stiles, walking around to the oven as Stiles twisted around on the stool. Stiles watched as she tried to see if there was any noticeable difference in the cookies with the wolfsbane. Glancing at Stiles, Leah made a face and shrugged before reaching for a spatula to move the cookies off of the sheet.

"Do you want one?" Leah asked, looking over her shoulder at Stiles. Stiles made a face, tilting his head to the side,

"Not really…" He trailed off, noticing Leah's look that made it clear it wasn't really a question, "I mean, yeah sure, babeee-arbie." Stiles awkwardly tried to correct himself, but it was too late.

There was a pause as Leah looked over to him, watching him react to what he had said. Stiles pressed his lips together and furrowed his brows, shaking his head as he made a small noise. Leah raised her eyebrows at him, waiting for him to figure himself out. Letting out a small scoff, Stiles pulled the corners of his mouth down and waved his hand in the air,

"Just give me the cookie." He seriously said, flattening his hands on the counter of the island, turning red with embarrassment. Leah handed him the paper towel that had the cookie in it, an amused grin on her face. "Thanks." Stiles cleared his throat, eyes going down to look at the cookie.

"No problem, _babe_." Leah stressed, teasing Stiles. Stiles immediately looked up from his cookie, giving her an unamused look. Tilting her head to the side, Leah gave him an innocent grin, picking up her cookie and biting into it. Stiles shoved the cookie into his mouth, not wanting to risk saying another stupid thing.

The two watched each other's reactions — a look of disgust came over Leah's face as Stiles tried not to gag. The both managed to swallow what was in their mouth, letting out matching noises of disgust.

"Oh ew, no." Leah shook her head, grabbing a glass from the cabinet and filling it with water. She swallowed a gulp, swishing it around in her mouth to get the taste out before spitting into the sink. Handing the glass to Stiles, Leah watched as he did the same, making a face afterwards.

"That was, uh, terrible." Stiles plainly said, eyebrows raising as he looked to Leah. She coughed and then nodded.

"Hopefully that was enough to do something though cause I…do not want another." Leah trailed off, looking at the cookie pan.

"I think you gotta eat another one." Stiles gritted his teeth together, getting a look from Leah. She pouted at him,

"But I don't wanna." She whined, stomping her foot a bit.

"I'll give you five dollars."

"Ten and a pack of Twizzlers."

" _Fine._ " Stiles rolled his eyes. Leah held out her pointer finger, looking at Stiles expectantly. Letting out a huff, Stiles leaned forward, wrapping his pointer finger around hers, "I pointer finger promise." Leah smirked at him before stepping away. She got the other cookie and studied it for a moment — stalling.

Her eyes meeting Stiles's, Leah took in a deep breath and then shoved the cookie into her mouth, chewing quickly and whining the whole time. Stiles quickly handed her the glass of water, letting her wash the cookie down before swishing it around in her mouth and then spitting it out into the sink.

"Done." Leah stuck out her tongue and made a gagging noise, "Gross."

"Yeah, but hopefully it'll help." Stiles said, matching Leah's grimace. She shook her head and picked up the pan, scrapping the cookies into the trash before putting the pan into the sink.

"I don't feel any different yet." She made a face before stepping around the island. Stiles got off the stool, standing in front of her.

"I mean it probably'll take some time." Stiles shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets, "It's wolfsbane, not magic." Leah sighed in agreement, crossing her arms over her chest and looking away from him, "I should get going." Stiles said after a moment, "Gotta figure out our double date plans." Leah rolled her eyes up at him, trying to hide the smile that was appearing on her face, "Any requests?" He asked, raising his eyebrow down at her.

"Uh, no." Leah shook her head, "Just make sure it's _fun_." Leah widened her eyes, repeating what Stiles had said earlier. Stiles scoffed and rolled his head back, not commenting. Pulling his hands out of his pockets, Stiles let his arms wrap around Leah's waist, pulling her closer against him.

"I'll see if Scott has any requests."

"Sounds good to me." Leah gave him a half smile, stepping back from Stiles's grasp. Stepping by Stiles and walking out of the kitchen. Stiles blinked a moment before following after her. Leading him back up the stairs, Leah went into her room and sat down on her bed. Stiles reached around her to get his bag,

"Don't forget you owe me ten bucks and some Twizzlers." Leah reminded him, poking his arm. Stiles turned to look at her, raising his eyebrows and making his eyes wide,

"I know." He pushed his head forward before pulling back and Leah watched as he stood up straighter, slinging his backpack around his shoulders.

"I'll see you tomorrow then." Leah tilted her head to the side and leaning back against her hands. Stiles nodded and gave her a tight smile. There was a pause before Stiles quickly leaned forward to kiss Leah. Surprised, Leah felt herself fall back on her elbows, taking Stiles with her.

A muffled noise came out of Stiles's mouth as he went down on top of Leah. He heard Leah let out a small laugh as she shifted under Stiles to get more comfortable, "Sorry." Stiles managed out, trying to get up.

Gently smacking at Stiles's shoulders, Leah made Stiles get off of her. He placed his hands on either side of her hand to push himself up. He sighed as he got to his feet and Leah pushed herself up into a sitting position.

"Alright, I'll see you." Stiles bobbed his head in a nod, not wanting to linger for fear of Leah making fun of him for what just happened.

As Stiles turned away from Leah, Leah got to her feet, reaching out and catching him before he walked out of the bedroom. Her hand slid down to grasp his and there was a small smirk on her face as she looked up at him. Rolling up on her toes, Leah quickly pecked Stiles on the lips before stepping back,

"See you." She grinned at him and Stiles returned the smile. He bobbed his head in another quick nod before spinning around and walking out of the bedroom.

* * *

Walking out of the makeshift bedroom in the subway station, the lights flickered above Rachel as she pulled her shirt over her head. She had to admit, having sex on a mattress in an abandoned subway station was something new for her — not to mention the werewolf she was doing it with. Rachel glanced to the left, seeing Isaac walking around the station, picking up certain things, looking them over and then putting them back down.

After Derek had saved him from the sheriff's station, Isaac had been labelled as a fugitive which meant he wasn't able to be in the public eye. He had to go into hiding or else risk being arrested for his dad's murder. Rachel had realized she had more in common with the werewolf teen than she originally thought. She made a mental note to pick up a change of clothes for him along with some sort of entertainment for the next time she came back.

"Do you have a list of potentials?" Rachel asked, turning back and stepping into the subway car, looking down at Derek. He furrowed his brow at her, propping himself up on the mattress using his elbow to get more comfortable, "Like are there certain people that you would turn into your…betas?" Rachel ended, not sure of the wording. Derek took in a breath and pulled down the corners of his mouth, shaking his head a bit.

"Not really. Just looking for people who are willing." He looked back to Rachel. She nodded slowly, reaching down to grab her pants. Derek watched her redress herself, feeling himself become a little nervous wary at saying so much — the last time someone was this interested in the werewolf hierarchy, his entire family had been burnt to a crisp. He had to stop engaging with her until he found out more about her background.

"Why are you doing it?" Rachel asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Derek took in a breath, figuring out to answer, but Rachel answered her own question with another question, "Because of the hunters?"

"Yeah." Derek nodded, not wanting to get into his personal reasons. He'd let her believe whatever Connor told her -

"There's more hunters here because of your dead ex, right?" Rachel asked, raising her eyebrows. Derek let out a huff, reminding himself to have a serious discussion with Connor about lines and how they shouldn't be crossed.

"Why are you so interested in this?" Derek turned the tables on Rachel.

He did have to admit that Rachel's reaction to werewolves and hunters threw him off; he was thinking she would disappear. But she ended up being very interested, sticking around and seeming like she wanted to get involved.

"Because." Rachel offhandedly said, but didn't delve any further, "This was a fun." Rachel dropped her arms to her side and tossed her hair over her shoulder, "Uh, next time let's go to my place."

"You mean my place." Derek raised his eyebrows at her, happy with the change of subject, "Cause technically I own the building." Derek walked his fingers over the mattress.

"Then why don't you live there?" Rachel asked, brow quirking up. Derek opened his mouth to respond, but Rachel was already done with the conversation. She turned away from him, grabbing her purse and jacket from where they were thrown across the subway car seats.

Walking out of the subway car, Rachel shrugged on her jacket, Isaac glancing over to her for a moment. She zipped her jacket up and shoved her hands into her pockets, standing a few feet away from the teen. Studying him for a moment, Rachel figured out his clothing sizes and then turned away from him. Isaac watched her walk up the stairs of the subway station, the door banging shut as she left.

* * *

Closing his locker door with a small bang, Kyle started for his Junior ROTC classroom only to be stopped by the sound of someone calling his name. He glanced over his shoulder to see Stiles Stilinski jogging up to him, slowing as he got to the older teen and blowing out a breath,

"Hey dude." Stiles managed out as Kyle turned to fully face him.

"Hey man, what's up?" Kyle asked, hiking up his backpack. He was a little thrown off; the two were teammates, but they never really interacted outside of practice.

"You're friends with Leah, right?" Stiles asked, tilting his head forward. Kyle fell back on his foot and let out a groan laugh.

"Man, you don't have to worry about me trying to get with your girl." Figuring Stiles was trying to mark his territory, Kyle tried to end the conversation rather quickly.

"No, what?" Stiles looked confused, "That's not what I meant." He shook his head and let out a scoff, "You're definitely not her type." Stiles's eyes trailed over Kyle. Kyle scoffed at that, shaking his head a bit,

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, man." He looked back at Stiles, "What's up then?"

"Well we're going out tomorrow night and I just...did she ever say anything or did you guys talk about like... _dates_?" Stiles asked, raising his shoulders up. Kyle's brows furrowed and he couldn't help but let out a small laugh,

"No." Stiles slumped down, getting Kyle's attention, "Do you really not know what to do?" Stiles let out a scoff and hiked his backpack up,

" _No_." Stiles pushed his chin out, "I just figured since you're friends with her, you'd know what she'd like." Kyle raised his eyebrows at Stiles,

"And you're sure you're her boyfriend." Kyle stated, putting his hand out and making a face. Stiles rolled his eyes,

"Whatever, man." Stiles waved his hand at Kyle, turning away from the older teen.

"No, hey…" Kyle laughed, "I'm just messing with you." Stiles turned back, waiting for Kyle to continue, "I have an idea." Kyle raised his eyebrows at Stiles, giving him a satisfied smirk, "I'll set it up and text you tonight." Stiles bobbed his head in a nod, quickly spinning around and walking away from Kyle, "You're welcome!" Kyle called out as Stiles disappeared.

Laughing to himself, Kyle turned back around, shaking his head as he went into his classroom. It was cute to see the two of them try and navigate their new relationship and helping out was the least he could do for the youngin's.

Sliding his backpack off of his shoulder, Kyle let it drop down next to him, following suit as he sat down in his seat.

"Hey, dude." Kyle nodded to his friend. Glancing to the door, he saw Leah walk by with her friend, giving her a wide eyed look at something she said.

"Oh my God, you hate double dates." Leah realized, "I knew that, oh my God." Leah pressed her hands against her face, "If you don't want to go, that's totally fine." She reached out to Allison as they walked into the gym.

"No, no, no." Allison laughed, "I think it'll be a lot better than last time." She bobbed her head in a nod, "Seriously, thank you for thinking of us." Allison reached out to rub Leah's arm. She laughed a bit, dropping her hand from her arm, "You keep planning all of these things for us, it's kinda weird." Leah tilted her head to the side, causing Allison to backtrack, "Not _weird_ , just weird for you, I guess." Allison tried to explain, "It's…well, it's a nice thing."

"Are you saying I'm not nice?" Leah asked, pretending to be offended. Allison laughed a little and raised her shoulders up, making a face and using her non response as a response. Leah rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Okay, well, I can be nice." Leah pointed at Allison.

"Really?" Allison joked back, brows furrowing, "Says the girl who ditched me an hour into my first day." Allison teased, making Leah pull back, looking a bit shocked.

"Wow." Leah pressed a hand to her chest, laughing a little as the two of them got to where the rest of their gym class were standing. Allison shrugged before tossing her hair over her shoulder. Leah's laugh trailed off as Finstock's whistle blew, getting her attention. But Allison couldn't help but glance over at her friend, studying her for a moment.

Allison had been a little taken aback when Leah invited her out; she had been doing all of these nice things for her and Scott — not that Allison was complaining, but it was a little out of character for Leah to be putting her friends before herself. Allison didn't know why Leah was acting nicer than she had before and made a mental note to talk about it with Stiles to see if he noticed any changes. Maybe it was just her new relationship status with Stiles, but Allison was pretty sure Leah wasn't one to change for a boy — let alone _Stiles._

"Argent!" Coach's voice got Allison's attention. She was beckoned up to the front of the group, being volunteered as next up for the rock wall.

Leah followed her friend through the group of students, sidling up next to Stiles. Feeling someone brush against him, Stiles looked down to see Leah looking back up at him. He gave her a half smile before looking back to where Scott and Allison were starting to climb the rock wall.

"Figured out a plan for tomorrow night?" Leah asked, raising her eyebrows.

"It's in the final stages." Stiles bobbed his head in a nod, glancing back down at her, "Allison in?"

"Yep."

"Cool, Scott is too." Stiles looked back up at the rock wall.

"And where's what you owe me?" Leah asked a small smirk on her face causing Stiles to do a double take before he remembered what she was talking about. He rolled his eyes and slumped down a bit,

"It's in my backpack. I'll give it to you later."

"Can't wait." Leah grinned at him as Stiles rolled his eyes again. The pair were silent for a moment before Stiles scuffed his foot against the gym floor,

"Feelin' any different from last night?" He asked.

"Nope." Leah sighed, looking away from Stiles and crossing her arms over her chest, "No new memories, but I haven't forgotten anything today." She raised her eyebrows, meeting Stiles's matching look.

"Good," He pulled the corners of his mouth down as he nodded a bit, "That's good."

The two turned away from each other just in time to see Scott go tumbling off of the wall, falling down and being jerked back by the wire right before he hit the ground. Scattered laughs spread through the crowd of students and Leah glanced up to see Allison smirking to herself before pushing off of the wall. Scott unhooked himself as Finstock yelled for the crowd to quiet. He surveyed the rest of the students before calling up his next victims,

"Stilinski!" Leah glanced over to Stiles as Finstock called another name, "Erica! To the wall!" Stiles grinned at Leah before both of them looked over to where Erica stood.

Leah didn't know the girl well, but had been aware of Erica's presence. The only reason why Leah knew who Erica was was because of a video that went around freshman year of Erica having a seizure in class. But other than that, Leah thought nothing of the girl - they never spoke or interacted and Leah didn't really feel like she needed to get to know her.

"Enjoying the view, huh?" Allison nudged Leah, getting her to tear her gaze from watching Stiles start up the wall. Leah glanced over to Allison and rolled her eyes at Allison's smirk.

"Shut up." Leah mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. She looked back at the wall to see that Stiles had quickly made it up and was walking back down. Erica was stuck in the middle, not moving.

While Stiles was celebrating to himself, Erica began to shake and a sob came bubbling out. She got the attention of the rest of the class, causing everyone to step up closer to the rock wall. Lydia came up to stand next to Allison, who was still standing by Leah. Leah felt Stiles and Scott step up next to her, looking concerned.

"Erica." Finstock called out, everyone looking up at where Erica was freaking out, "Dizzy? Is it vertigo?"

"Vertigo's a dysfunction of the vestibular system of the inner ear." Lydia primly said, "She's just freaking out." Lydia gestured to Erica, who still hadn't responded to Finstock.

"Erica."

"I'm fine." Erica called back, voice shaking. Leah sighed, growing tired with whatever was happening to Erica.

"Coach, maybe it's not safe." Allison leaned over, "You know she's epileptic." Allison looked back up to Erica. Finstock looked surprised, looking around the class,

"Why doesn't anybody tell me this stuff?" He asked a rhetorical question to the class before turning back to Erica, "Erica, y-you're fine. Just kick off from the wall. There's a mat to catch you. Come on." Finstock encouraged Erica. Leah watched as Erica slowly kicked back from the wall, the wire she was attached to lowering her to the ground.

"See, you're fine." Finstock talked her through it, "You're on the ground. You're all right." He helped Erica get detached from the wire, making sure she was okay.

Leah heard the snickers throughout the class Erica shrugged Finstock off. She pushed passed her classmates, walking away from the group. Crossing her arms over her chest, Leah glanced to Stiles, raising her eyebrows at him. Stiles responded with the same motion as the bell rang, signaling the end of class.

Following Allison and Lydia, Leah split off from the boys, heading into the girls' locker room. She walked over to her locker, opening it and pulling off her gym shirt. Leah glanced over to where Allison was pulling on her shirt,

"Stiles told me about the wolfsbane cookies." Allison said as she closed her locker door. Leah rolled her eyes as she pulled on her shirt,

"They were disgusting." Leah sighed, "How was your night?"

"Oh you mean how my dad kidnapped me for some weird training sesh?" Allison raised her eyebrows, getting a surprised look from Leah.

"Oh shit." Leah managed out.

"Yeah so, not great." Allison nodded, making a face as Leah closed her locker door. The two picked up their backpacks, heading for the hallway. But then they stopped at the sight of Scott bolting towards the gym, Stiles following after. The girls exchanged a look before hurrying after them.

They got to the gym just in time to see Scott catch Erica as she fell from the rock wall. Leah and Allison slid to a stop behind Scott, Allison dropping to her knees. Erica began to have a seizure, causing Allison to instruct Scott to turn Erica on her side so it wouldn't hurt her. Leah hovered over Stiles, who was kneeling by Scott and Allison as Erica gripped onto Scott's hand for dear life.

* * *

 _A/N: Any questions, comments, concerns or cries of outrage?_


	8. Incredibly Out of Character

Connor held open the door to the subway station so Rachel could walk in before him. She was carrying four different sized shopping bags while Connor was holding two. He didn't know how or why he got roped into her shopping adventure, but he was actually surprised as to who Rachel was buying clothes for. She had spent more money than Connor had ever spent on himself on clothes for teens she barely knew.

"You still didn't answer my question." Connor said as he followed Rachel down the stairs. "You're not the type to care like this."

"They're kids, Connor." Rachel glanced over her shoulder at him, "The bite may be a gift, but it doesn't come with basic necessities." Connor raised his eyebrows and nodded, agreeing with her.

After learning that Derek had given the bite to another teenager, a young girl named Erica, Rachel had decided to pick some things up for her as well as Isaac. She picked things out that she felt would be fashionable but would also be semi practical. Connor was right, to a degree, Rachel would usually never do something like this - hell, she hated kids and teenagers, but she couldn't help but feel for these kids and the changes they were going through - plus it wouldn't hurt to show Connor and Derek that she could be of help in this world of werewolves.

Isaac eyed her as Rachel walked into the open subway space, his eyes going from the bags to her face. Setting two of the bags down with a point, Rachel placed her hands on her hips, "Take what fits and what you like."

Hesitantly, Isaac moved forward towards the bags. He peered in one and took a look at what was inside before looking back at Rachel, "Thank you." He quietly said and Rachel gave him a warm smile in response.

Letting Isaac go through his bags, Rachel took the other two bags and went into the subway car. Connor stayed out with Isaac, making conversation with the new beta as they looked at some of the things Rachel had bought. Inside the subway car was Erica, sitting on the bench seat in a pair of raggy sweats and looking nervous.

Rachel's eyes glanced to the bite mark on Erica's wrist, even if it was covered with bandages, Rachel could still see the blood. Derek had taken care of her the night after he bit her, but he had disappeared somewhere in the station while Erica had been sleeping.

Gently sitting down next to Erica, Rachel placed the bags in the space between them. They got Erica's attention and she looked from the bags to Rachel, the same curious expression on her face that was on Isaac's. Rachel reached into the bag and pulled out one of the shirts she had bought.

"How are you feeling?" Rachel asked, studying the young teen.

"Fine." Erica nodded, her voice soft, "Who are you?"

"Rachel." There was a pause as Rachel tried to figure out how to connect herself with the rest of the pack, "I'm having sex with Derek." Rachel put it plainly, watching Erica's eyebrows furrow,

"So you know about...this?" Erica asked, using a general term for everything that was happening. Rachel nodded and held up the shirt,

"Which is why I figured you might need some new clothes." Rachel gestured to the bags, "They're yours if you want 'em."

Erica pulled one of the bags closer to her and looked inside. She pulled out a pair of cheetah print heels that Rachel had bought on impulse.

"I could never wear these." Erica sighed wistfully. Rachel tilted her head at the teen, making a face,

"Why not? You can wear whatever you want, werewolf or not."

"You think so?" Erica asked, looking hopeful. Nodding, Rachel got to her feet, turning to look down at Erica,

"Put 'em on." Rachel gestured to her, "Strut your stuff." She waved her hand out as Erica gave her some semblance of a smile.

Derek walked into the subway car, leaning against the side as he watched Erica put on a pair of heels. Rachel helped her to her feet and steadied her, getting a small laugh from Erica as she got used to the heels. Crossing his arms over his chest, Derek looked over his shoulder to see Isaac slip on a new leather jacket, Connor folding some other items that Rachel had apparently bought.

"Can we talk?" Derek asked, turning back to look at the girls. Rachel and Erica both looked at Derek and the smile slightly fell off of Erica's face at the sight of Derek. Rachel raised her eyebrows at him, knowing it wasn't really a question but more of a demand.

Rachel stepped by him, walking out of the subway car and leading Derek down a few feet away from Isaac and Connor. She turned, facing Derek and crossing her arms over her chest as Derek stepped up to her,

"What do you think you're doing?" He asked, lifting his chin at her.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Rachel tossed her hair over her shoulder, acting nonchalant. Derek scoffed and looked away from her, "I bought them some clothes." Rachel lifted her shoulders up, "Don't really see how that's cause for concern."

"When it comes to my pack, it is." Derek stated, looking back at her, "Why are you getting involved?"

"Because I can." Rachel seriously said, "You've given me no reason not to. And you could use the help."

"I'm doing just fine on my own."

"Really?" Rachel looked around the subway station, trying to make a point, "They're teenagers, Derek. You can't just leave them in an abandoned subway station." Derek let out a huff and Rachel saw his jaw click.

"What do you suggest I do then?" Derek asked, making Rachel take in a deep breath,

"Well, for one they need to go to school." Rachel made her eyes wide, "At least Erica does. I can stay here with Isaac after work."

"You don't have to-"

"I'm involved now, Derek." Rachel seriously said, cutting him off, "Whether you like it or not." She tossed her hair over her shoulder and walked past him. Derek turned to watch her duck into the subway car, knowing he should feel grateful that someone was willing to help, but he couldn't help but be concerned about _who_ Rachel actually was - hell, he didn't even know her last name.

As Derek walked back to the main area of the subway station, Connor intercepted him, "Hey, man, I'm sorry about Rachel." Connor immediately said, "When she gets her grip on something, no one can make her let go."

"It's fine." Derek glanced at him, shrugging a bit, "We're gonna need all the help we can get."

"Yeah, well, you turning people isn't just what we need to be worried about." Connor started, getting Derek's attention.

"What do you mean?"

Connor took in a breath before launching into the story of what had happened at the Lahey house - how there was a new supernatural creature everyone had to worry about.

* * *

Between periods, Leah hurried into the girls' locker room, remembering that she left her lunch in her locker room locker after dropping off her lacrosse gear. Pulling open the door, Leah lightly jogged to her locker, only to stop before she got there; the sound of someone crying echoed through the room. It petered off as Leah paused and she heard Lydia's voice,

"Hello?"

Inwardly groaning, Leah rolled her head back, not wanting to bother to get involved with whatever Lydia was going through. She hiked up her bag and went to her locker as Lydia continued,

"This is the girls' room!" Leah rolled her eyes and mouthed to herself _no shit_.

Quickly opening her locker, Leah grabbed the brown paper bag and quietly shut the door. She didn't want to draw attention to herself or have to be forced to interact with Lydia. Leah quietly turned and went to walk out of the locker room, only to hear the quick clicks of Lydia's heels against the tile. Stopping herself from stepping forward, Leah watched as Lydia marched out of the locker room, curls bouncing as she walked with a purpose.

Once the locker room door slammed shut, Leah waited a moment before walking out into the hall. She started for the cafeteria, knowing Scott had saved her a seat at their lunch table. As she walked down the stairs, Leah saw Lydia standing in front of the trophy case, staring at it. Leah ignored Lydia, going to walk past her, only to pause for a split second at the sound of Lydia's sniffle. Leah felt that annoying feeling of guilt turn up once again and she tried to push it down, forcing herself to walk away.

She only got a few steps before she slumped down, sighing and turning back to look at Lydia, "What's the matter?" Leah stated, getting Lydia's attention.

"Wha-?" Lydia asked, wiping at her eyes.

"Why are you crying in front of a trophy case?" Leah asked, gesturing to the case. Lydia's brow furrowed,

"I wasn't crying." Her voice sounded normal again, "It was the dust. They don't clean these things very well, I mean, you can't even see Jackson's trophies." Lydia gestured to the case, sounding like herself again. Leah raised her eyebrows and nodded, rocking back on her heels,

"Right." There was a pause, "But didn't he dump you?" Leah asked, squinting at Lydia. Lydia tossed her hair over her shoulder and crossed her arms over her chest,

"It was mutual."

"Well," Leah scoffed, "If you want my opinion, you're better off without him."

"I didn't." Lydia snapped back before pausing and eyeing her, "You think so?"

"He's an ass." Leah raised her shoulders up, "You deserve better." Lydia rolled her lips in and nodded, looking away from Leah. She thought back to how Jackson practically attacked her in the hallway, screaming at her about how something was all her fault. Leah seemed to have made a good point.

Screwing her mouth to the side, Leah let out a deep breath, already regretting what she was about to say,

"Do you want to come out with us tonight?"

Lydia looked back at Leah, a confused expression on her face, "Why?"

"Because you're friends with Allison and I'm trying to make an effort." Leah responded, paraphrasing what Lydia said to her a few weeks ago. Lydia stared at Leah for a moment,

"Is Allison going?"

"Her, Scott, me and Stiles." Leah counted off.

"So I'll be a fifth wheel." Lydia stated.

"What? No." Leah scoffed, "I don't-Stiles and I-we-it's just a group thing, ok?" Leah sputtered out as Lydia eyed her.

"I knew it." Lydia nodded to herself, "Looks like my advice worked, huh?" Lydia gave her a knowing smile before flouncing off past Leah. Leah took in a deep breath and then let it out,

"I hate her and myself." Leah whispered to herself before heading for the cafeteria.

* * *

Walking into the cafeteria, Stiles spotted the back of Kyle's head. He quickly walked over to his table, hands shoved into his pockets. His teammate was sitting with one of Stiles's classmates, Boyd, and Stiles pulled out chair across from him, quickly sitting down. He didn't know Kyle and Boyd were friends; he almost always saw Boyd eating alone while Kyle ate with his lacrosse bros, but it seemed today was different.

"Kyle." Stiles nodded, before glancing to Boyd.

"You two know each other, right?" Kyle asked around a mouthful of food.

"We have a few classes together." Stiles bobbed his head in a nod, "Boyd." He greeted Boyd before looking around the cafeteria, "How do you two know each other?"

"Junior ROTC." Kyle answered with a grin, "You bring the cash?"

"Yep. And what exactly am I getting in return?" Stiles asked, feeling like he was doing some sort of drug deal in the middle of the cafeteria.

The previous night, Kyle had called Stiles to meet him in the cafeteria during their lunch period. He had come up with a plan for Stiles's little group date and although Stiles was pretty happy about it, he was concerned when Kyle asked for a rather large sum of money in return.

"Keys." Kyle answered as Boyd pulled his fist from under the table, letting the keys dangle in the air. "Boyd works at the ice rink," Kyle explained before Stiles could ask, "They close at seven, so if you and your friends go in after closing…"

"We'd get the rink to ourselves." Stiles finished, nodding a bit, "That's a good plan." Stiles looked at Boyd, reaching out to grab the keys. But Boyd pulled them back,

"This isn't a favor. It's a transaction." Boyd raised his eyebrows at Stiles, getting him to nod.

"Right, yeah. Absolutely." Stiles pulled his hand out of his pocket and slapped a twenty down on the table. Both Boyd and Kyle looked at it before looking back at Stiles,

"I said fifty." Kyle stated, getting Stiles to raise his eyebrows at him,

"Really, I-I remember twenty. I don't know. I have a really good verbal memory. And I remember twenty." Stiles rambled as Kyle gave him an unamused look, "I remember that distinct _twa_ sound, _twa-enty_." Stiles pushed his head out as Kyle sighed, reaching down to pick up his sandwich,

"He said fifty." Boyd spoke up, voice deep and semi threatening, "With a _fa_ sound. Hear the difference?" Stiles opened his mouth to say something, but Boyd cut him off, "If you can't, I can demonstrate some other words with the _fa_ sound." Stiles caught Kyle trying not to smile before he glanced back at Boyd,

"I think I'm recalling it. No. Maybe I just got it confused with _for_ ty." Stiles slapped another twenty on the table. He raised his eyebrows at the boys, seeing Boyd's unamused look along with Kyle's exasperated one.

"Come on, guys, have you seen the piece of crap Jeep that I drive?" Stiles complained, rolling his head back,

"You seen the piece of crap bus that I take?" Boyd immediately shot back. Stiles stared at him for a moment before slapping down another ten. Boyd grinned at him and handed Stiles the keychain. Stiles yanked the keys from Boyd's hand, shoving them into his pocket,

"Pleasure doing business with you, Stiles." Kyle raised his sandwich at Stiles as he got out of the seat.

"Mmm. Okay. Thank you!" Stiles said, walking away from the boys and throwing a wave over his shoulder.

Weaving through the cafeteria tables, Stiles sat down in front of Scott, slamming the keys on the table, "Got em. I'll pick you up after work and tell Leah and Allison to meet us at the rink." Stiles shifted his chair forward as Scott looked over Stiles's shoulder, obviously distracted by something.

Stiles looked over his shoulder to follow Scott's gaze, only to see Erica strut into the cafeteria wearing rather tight clothes and high heels. She looked extremely different than she had twenty four hours ago and she grabbed the entire cafeteria's attention. With a smirk on her face, she bent down to grab an apple off of some kid's tray and took a bite out of it.

"What." Lydia stated, slamming her hands down on the table, "The _holy hell,_ is that?" Stiles couldn't tear his eyes away from Erica - and neither could the rest of the cafeteria as she turned away, sauntering out of the cafeteria.

"It's Erica." Scott managed out, sounding concerned.

"Okay, wait, did she just take an apple and then walk out?" Leah's voice got Stiles to do a double take, seeing her standing next to Lydia looking confused. Stiles didn't linger on the reason why Leah and Lydia were standing next to each other; Scott pushed out of his seat, intent on following Erica.

Both Stiles and Leah went after Scott, following him out of the cafeteria and down the stairs. They pushed through the double doors, coming to a stop as they saw Erica getting into Derek's Camaro, Derek sitting in the driver's seat. Both wolves shot the three of them a charming smile before Derek took off,

"What was the point of _that_?" Leah asked, gesturing to the space where the Camaro once was,

"She's with him now." Scott answered, "A werewolf."

"What are we gonna do about it?" Stiles asked, glancing at Scott.

"I don't know." Scott replied, sounding almost defeated.

* * *

At the end of the day, Stiles caught up with Leah and Allison as they were walking out of the school. After Erica had strutted in and out, there was a slight air of tension for the rest of the day. Leah had updated Allison about what had happened, just so she was in the know, but they had yet to come up with a plan as to what to do about it.

"Hey," Stiles fell into step next to Leah, getting her attention, "Everything's all figured out for tonight." Leah and Allison stopped walking, turning so they were facing Stiles. Leah gave him a raised eyebrow look, looking mildly impressed with him,

"Really?"

"Yep." Stiles bobbed his head in a nod and pulled out his phone, going to text Leah, "Just meet us here at eight." Stiles texted Leah the address of the ice rink.

"Oh, speaking of," Leah started, swiping at Stiles's text, "I _might_ have invited Lydia to come with us." Stiles did a double take, mouth opening slightly at what Leah did. He looked from Leah to Allison and then back to Leah,

"Well, that was incredibly out of character." Stiles blinked at her, "I thought you hated her."

"I do." Leah blinked back at him as if that weren't obvious. Allison looked in between the two as Stiles tried to think of something to say,

"Huh...uhm, okay." Stiles shook his head, "I guess I'll just see you tonight then." He looked to Allison, meeting her eye as Leah nodded at him.

Leah turned away from the two of them, walking down the hall as Allison stepped over to stand next to Stiles, both of them watching her walk away.

"Something's definitely up with her, right?" Allison asked, looking to Stiles. "I mean, I thought so when she invited me on this group thing, but...inviting _Lydia_? They hate each other."

"No, yeah, that's not Leah...that's a pod person." Stiles nodded.

"What do you think happened?" Allison asked, "Could it be the wolfsbane?" Stiles glanced over to Allison, meeting her concerned look,

"No, no whatever _this_ is was happening earlier. The dinner?" Stiles reminded Allison. Allison nodded at him, looking away from him,

"So what's happening to her?" Allison asked

"Couldn't tell ya." Stiles responded, feeling a knot in his stomach begin to form; Leah's mood swings were becoming more and more frequent and seemed to cause her to do some things she wouldn't normally do.

Allison bid him goodbye, saying that she would see him that night before heading down the hall. Letting his backpack drop to the floor, Stiles reached in and pulled out a notebook, flipping to the back where his scribbled handwriting had made a list of all of Leah's symptoms. Underneath _nightmares_ , Stiles quickly wrote down _mood swings_ before shutting his notebook and shoving it back into his backpack.

He had a bad feeling about what was happening to Leah, but bringing it up to her was a touchy subject; he didn't want her to get defensive about it, which was what he knew she would do. Ignoring the problem wasn't making it go away, so Stiles decided that after their group thing, he would talk to Leah. Really talk to her and try to figure out someway to help her. He just hoped the wolfsbane would be a solution.

* * *

Connor closed the front door behind him, dropping his keys into the key bowl as he shrugged out of his jacket. Glancing around, he didn't see any sign of his family, even though Stella's car was parked out front. He figured she must be upstairs with the baby, so he went through the living room, heading for the kitchen to get a pre dinner snack.

Sitting at the table was Leah, hand digging through a bag of frozen fruit as she tried to get to the fruit pieces she liked. At the sound of Connor entering, Leah looked up at him and gave him a confused look,

"Uh, hi." Leah said, lowering the bag and sliding back in the chair, away from Connor.

"Hey." Connor nodded at her, not noticing her actions as he went for the cabinets, "Do you know if Mom bought more of those pretzel things?" Leah didn't respond, causing Connor to glance over at her, "Hey-" He stopped himself at the sight of Leah giving him a confused look.

Taking in how she was sitting and the look on her face, Connor quickly put two and two together, "Hey, okay," He started, dropping his hands and putting them out in front of him to look non threatening. "Do you know who I am?"

"Of course I do." Leah rolled her eyes, getting Connor to immediately relax, "You're Derek's friend." Leah waved her hand at him. Connor's brow furrowed as she continued, "Why are you in my house?" She asked.

"What? No, I'm not," Connor blinked at her, hands on his hips as he tried to explain himself, "I'm not _just_ Derek's friend. I'm your brother."

Leah gave him a confused look, glancing at him, then at herself. She scoffed and rolled her eyes, " _Sure_."

Connor racked his brain, trying to figure out how to help the situation. Obviously, the wolfsbane didn't do what it was supposed to. The last thing he wanted was for Leah to call for help, or do something that would end up with Connor having to explain what was happening to Leah. Neither one of their parents knew what was happening - Leah not telling them because she didn't want to worry them, while Connor figured he could do this on his own since it was happening because of something supernatural.

"Seriously, man, what are you doing here?" Leah gestured to him, "Don't you have to go help him turn people?" Connor put his hand over his mouth, wrapping one arm around his midsection. Leah didn't _forget_ him, she just disassociated him. Her mind made her forget small details rather than big things.

"Right, yeah." Connor swallowed as he realized Leah was still waiting for him to answer her. He dropped his arms to his side, "Okay…" Connor trailed off, turning away from Leah, not sure how else to respond. He turned back to look at her before deciding to just leave it - not wanting to cause any more problems.

Leaving Leah in the kitchen, Connor went up to his room. He opened up his laptop and began to try and figure out what exactly was going on with Leah. The notes he was taking on what was happening were becoming more and more confusing; with every new thing, it canceled out something else.

After spiraling down into a hole of WebMD, Connor pulled himself away from the computer. He noticed how late it had gotten and realized he still hadn't eaten. He had spent all day talking with Derek about the newest supernatural creature, juggling baby betas and then dealing with Leah's memory issues - he had sort of forgotten to eat.

Stella was down stairs when Connor walked into the kitchen. She raised her ice cream container at him, having finished taking care of the baby for the evening. Her daily routine had started to revolve around the baby, causing her to push the second reason why she came back to Beacon Hills to the side. Her family was more important than some letter from a dead woman. Connor raised his eyebrows at her and noticed there was no sign of Leah.

"Where's Leah?" Connor asked aloud.

"Oh, apparently she's got a group thing tonight." Stella waved her spoon in the air, "I let her take my car."

"A group thing?" Connor's brow furrowed,

"The way she explained it, she made it sound like a double date with a fifth wheel, but..." Stella shrugged, "Who knows these days."

"Did she say what they were doing?" Connor asked, getting a knowing look from Stella.

"You sound like you're gonna go crash it."

"I'm not." Connor immediately responded with a shrug. Stella raised her eyebrows at him and stepped back,

"Uh-huh, _sure_." Stella nodded, stabbing her spoon into the ice cream, "Well, if you must know, they're going ice skating. And Leah seemed very surprised at that." Connor made a face, wondering if Leah's surprise was genuine or a side effect of what was happening.

* * *

Stiles checked his phone for the hundredth time as Lydia laced up her ice skates. There was still no answer from Leah. Once they had gotten to the ice rink, he had texted her wondering where she was, but there was no response. Stiles knew, deep down that she had forgotten, and it hurt him to have to tell himself that this was going to be a normal thing until they figured out what was happening. Until Leah was able to admit that there was something wrong with her. But until that happened, Stiles had to deal with the fact that Leah would forget things like their first date - which technically wasn't even a date.

"Is Leah coming?" Lydia asked, pulling Stiles from his thoughts.

"Uh, I hope so." Stiles cleared his throat, putting his phone back into his bag. There was a moment of silence between the two; neither one of them ever really talked to each other. They were from different worlds and if it were any other time, Stiles would be ecstatic that Lydia was willingly talking to him, but he was distracted by someone else.

"Could it _be_ any colder in here?" Lydia complained. Stiles glanced over to see her shivering slightly. He reached into his bag and pulled out a bright orange hoodie that he brought in case Leah got cold,

"Here." He handed it out to Lydia, who eyed it and gave Stiles a offended look,

"I'm wearing blue." Lydia stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. When Stiles didn't respond correctly, Lydia continued, "Orange and blue, not a good combination."

"But it's the colors of the Mets!" Stiles complained, equally offended that she would stomp over his favorite baseball team's colors. Lydia gave him a pointed look causing Stiles to shove the hoodie back in his bag. He spotted a Reese's Cup package and pulled it out, knowing he better get rid of it before Leah arrived; she was allergic to peanut butter.

Holding it out to Lydia, Stiles watched as she debated taking the candy. Then she made an approving noise and took the package. Tearing it open, Lydia took out one of the cups and pointedly unwrapped it as Stiles watched. He decided to tell her about his relationship with Leah, not knowing if she knew or not, but wanting to see how she would react,

"Okay, um, maybe orange and blue is not the best combination." Stiles started, swallowing back the lump in his throat, "Right, um, you know, sometimes there's other things you wouldn't think would be a good combination end up turning out to, like, work really well together. Like two opposites, two people, maybe, who nobody ever thought would be together _ever,_ I mean, they didn't even think they would be together, but then they just find themselves…together..." Stiles trailed off, realizing he was rambling.

"You mean you and Leah?" Lydia asked, glancing over at him. Stiles raised his eyebrows at her, surprised that she caught on so quickly. But then again, he wasn't being very subtle about it.

"Right, yeah." Stiles bobbed his head in a nod.

"You're cute together." Lydia popped the last part of her Reese's Cup into her mouth. Stiles's mouth opened slightly at the comment and he made a face in response, "She's been into you for a while now."

"Really?" Stiles asked, raising his eyebrows, "Didn't know you two...talked about that stuff, let alone _talked_."

"Oh yeah." Lydia nodded, "Who do you think got her to start wearing more colors?" Lydia gave him a knowing, proud smile.

Stiles continued to be surprised by Lydia, realizing there was more to Leah's relationship with Lydia than he thought. No matter how hard she denied being friends with Lydia, it was becoming clear to Stiles that something had changed between them, causing them to become a little more amicable to each other. And what he would later find out was that at first, it was Allison, but it soon became their unstable mental states, finding comfort in knowing that someone else was going through something similar.

"Huh…" Stiles trailed off, "Have you two talked...about me and her...being together?"

"Honestly, I didn't even know you two were together until today." Lydia sighed, looking over at him, "But I am _not_ sitting around waiting for her to show up." Lydia got to her feet, "You coming?" She looked down at Stiles, raising her eyebrows up.

"Yeah, yep." Stiles nodded, getting to his feet.

He followed Lydia down to the ice rink, seeing that Allison was trying to teach Scott how to ice skate. Stiles had thought that Leah would come with Allison and Lydia, but Leah had apparently told Allison she would meet them there, having to take care of something at her house first. Lydia skated away from him, going to the middle of the rink to start skating around in circles, getting a motion going. Stiles watched as she spun herself around in a circle, spinning a few times before dropping out and skating back to him with a smile,

"Come on." Lydia reached out to grab Stiles's hand, pulling him behind her as she skated around the rink. Stiles managed to keep up, his thoughts far from what was happening to Leah as he skated around the rink with Lydia.

Being with Lydia felt normal and natural, as if it was always supposed to happen - not like Stiles thought it would feel: forced and like she was pitying him. As they skated, he wasn't worried about when Lydia would forget him or if she would have some sort of mood swing; instead, Stiles just relished in the feeling of doing something normal. There were no supernatural threats looming over them, or anything like that and Stiles wasn't complaining. After skating for a solid amount of time, Stiles left Lydia on the rink to go and get something for them to drink. Scott and Allison had disappeared into the back where the games were and as Stiles stepped off the rink, he realized that Leah still hadn't shown up.

Getting a bit frustrated, Stiles went over to his backpack, pulling out his phone to call Leah. He got her voicemail immediately and waited for the beep, ready to start yelling. But at the last moment he felt everything just begin to crush him-making him feel exhausted. He was worried, yes, but he still couldn't help but feel tired of always being forgotten by Leah.

So when the beep came, he took in a breath, turning to look at the ice rink, "Hey, it's me. You probably forgot about tonight. So just call me when you get this." Stiles paused, wanting to say something else, but before he could, Lydia's piercing scream got his attention.

His phone clattered from his hand as Stiles took off onto the ice. Lydia was on her knees in the middle of the rink, clawing at the ice. Sliding down on his knees, Stiles wrapped his arms around her, trying to get her to calm down as she let out another scream that turned into sobs. He looked up at the sound of the double doors crashing open, seeing Scott and Allison stopping on the edge of the rink, staring at them with wide eyed, concerned looks.

* * *

Leah knew she was late. She had lost track of time and knew Stiles would automatically assume that she had forgotten. But she hadn't! Well, maybe a little, but not for the normal reasons that everyone was becoming so accustomed to. For as much as she swore nothing was wrong with her, Leah knew deep down that there was a problem - she just didn't know how to fix it. And with Connor believing one thing and Stiles believing another, Leah knew that until _she_ figured out what was truly wrong with her, she would pretend that nothing was wrong.

Pulling open the ice rink doors, Leah stepped inside to see that the lights were on and music was softly playing from the speakers. She peered around for any sign of her friends, but no one was on the rink, "Stiles?" Leah called out, walking along the edge of the rink.

Leah screwed her mouth to the side and backed away from the rink, going into the hallway of the rink that led to the game room. While the games were all lit up, there was still no sign of her friends,

"Okay, guys, I get it!" Leah waved her hands in the air, "You're pissed I'm late!" Leah turned around in a circle, noticing a figure dart across the doorway in the hall. Rolling her eyes, Leah went after it, figuring it was Stiles playing some trick on her.

Bursting back into the rink, Leah looked around for Stiles, not seeing any sign of him. But when she looked back, she saw someone standing in the middle of the rink. Her brows furrowed and Leah couldn't help but take a step forward, the ice crunching underneath her sneakers.

Slowly, Leah walked out to the rink, the lights flickering above her. A knot in her stomach began to form and Leah paused, looking up at the lights, then back down at the woman's back. She seemed eerily familiar, but Leah didn't feel like finding out who it was. Stepping back, Leah started to walk backwards from the woman, only to see her turn so Leah could get a good look at her.

"Laura." Leah whispered out, "Wait, what are you doing here?" Leah looked around herself. Laura gave her a warm smile and stepped closer to Leah, reaching out to her,

"Aren't you happy to see me?" Laura asked, tilting her head to the side. Something inside of Leah broke; she hadn't realized how much she missed Laura's voice - the calming undertone to it that helped any situation. Even if Leah was forced to forget Laura, there was still something inside of her that remembered and reacted. Leah instinctively took a step forward, wanting to step into Laura's arms and be close to her again, but she paused, remembering an important detail,

"...You're dead." Leah quietly said, her heart rate picking up as Laura's warm smile became knowing and amused.

"But I'm still here." Laura calmly responded, "I'm here to help you." She stepped towards Leah. But with every step Laura took, Leah took one back, not sure what was going on. She wanted to believe that this was really happening, that somehow Laura was really in front of her.

"How?" Leah asked.

Laura's eyes flashed red and she let out a low growl. Feeling her heart contract in fear, Leah spun around, hair flying out behind her as she started to run across the ice. It felt like she was moving in slow motion and when Leah looked over her shoulder, Laura had disappeared. Leah stopped running, slipping a bit on the ice but managing to grab onto the wall for support. Her chest rising and falling quickly, Leah looked around the rink for any sign of Laura. Her voice was echoing around Leah, but Laura was nowhere to be found. As Leah walked backwards off of the ice rink, the lights were still flickering. Her eyes scanned the rink as her back hit the wall, then unexpectedly the lights went off, plunging Leah into darkness.

Knowing she needed to get off of the ice rink, Leah moved away from the wall as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Her heart was pounding against her chest as she heard Laura's voice again.

"Leah, I'm trying to help you."

"You're not doing a very good job!" Leah called back, hearing Laura give her an amused laugh.

Looking around herself, Leah headed for the double doors, wanting to get outside and away from Laura. She took off in a run, figuring that if she could just get to the car, she would be safe.

Suddenly, there was a hand on Leah's arm, yanking her back and causing her to let out a sharp, startled gasp. Leah went to move, but the grip on her was tight. She twisted in the grasp, turning to hit at the person,

"Let me go!" Leah cried out, delivering a swift knee to the gut, forcing her attacker to let her go as he let out a groan of pain.

Leah went for the double doors, feeling her attacker reach for her again. She let out a cry of pain, moving away and pushing the doors open. Stumbling out into the parking lot, Leah felt the arms come around her again and Leah started to struggle.

"Let me go! Laura, let me go!" Leah cried out, kicking at the attacker, "I don't want your help!" Leah wiggled in the person's grasp, feeling them loosen their grip only to spin her around. Leah pounded her fists against the person's chest, yelling incoherently at them before she heard Scott's voice,

"Leah!"

In that moment, Leah suddenly snapped out of whatever was going on in her head. Reality came crashing down around her as she looked up into the concerned eyes of her best friend. Scott saw her eyes clear and tears begin to form as she stepped away from him. She pressed her palms to her forehead, turning away from him as she quietly whispered,

"No, no, no no no."

Scott watched her realize whatever she had seen in the ice rink had been nothing more than a hallucination. Once Lydia started screaming, the group decided to call it a night and Stiles took Lydia home to take care of her. Scott had gotten home to see that Leah's bedroom light was off, the window locked and her phone off. He knew something was wrong, so he picked up her scent, following it back to the ice rink where Leah was in the midst of a hallucination.

Leah turned back to look at him, her hands on top of her head as she tried to calm herself down. Scott took in how desperate she looked, face tear stained, heart beating too fast for comfort, and looking like she had just seen a ghost. She rolled her lips in and looked away from him, stepping back as Scott stepped up to her,

"Leah..." Scott started, only to have Leah cut him off,

"Don't tell Stiles about this." Leah seriously said, "Or Connor." Scott opened his mouth to argue, but Leah didn't give him a chance, "I'm fine, Scott." She wiped under her eyes, sniffling a bit, "It was nothing. Probably just a side effect of the wolfsbane Connor gave me." Leah waved her hand in the air, playing it off, "Guess, uh, that's why they don't give it to humans." She tried to make a joke, but it fell flat. Scott swallowed hard, knowing she was lying. Knowing she knew that he knew she was lying.

"Leah, I-"

"Do you want a ride home?" Leah cut him off again, wanting to be done with the subject. She eyed Scott and he understood the silent message she was giving him,

"Yeah, sure." Scott nodded, getting a small smile from Leah. She took in a deep breath, turning away from Scott and walking over to the Mustang. Scott followed, knowing that whatever was happening to Leah was bound to get worse.

* * *

 _A/n: Any questions, comments, concerns or cries of outrage?_


	9. A Knee-Jerk Reaction

The weekend had passed without incident. Leah avoided Stiles, not leaving her house or engaging in conversation with him. But it wasn't like Stiles tried anyway. She knew he was mad at her for bailing on their group date, so she figured she would give him the weekend to be mad and try to talk to him about it on Monday.

While Leah avoided her problems, Connor tried to help solve some. Since Derek was turning more teens, he admitted to Connor that Jackson was supposed to be his first beta. Derek continued by telling Connor that Jackson's body rejected the bite. But there had been no other incident - Jackson was still standing, alive and well.

Over the weekend, Connor had spent most of his time with Deaton, going over possible outcomes. From what Connor was told, it didn't seem like there was cause for concern, but it was still odd that _both_ Lydia and Jackson somehow survived the bite and didn't turn.

Once Monday rolled around, Leah caught up with Stiles as he walked out of their Chemistry class. They hadn't talked all morning and Leah knew she had to be the one to apologize, which Leah was never good at, especially when it came to apologizing to Stiles. Plus, deep down, Leah was still pretty embarrassed at what happened that night, even if Stiles didn't know about it. She was grateful Scott didn't tell anyone -the last thing she needed was people fretting over her.

"Hey," Leah put a hand on Stiles's arm, getting his attention, "Can we talk?" She asked, raising her eyebrows at him. Stiles swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded, letting Leah lead him into an empty classroom.

She walked ahead of him, putting some space between them before she turned to look at him. Stiles was looking down at the floor, not sure if he was supposed to say something or not. Tangling her fingers together, Leah took in a breath, "I'm sorry." She quietly managed out. Stiles glanced up at her, surprised to hear those words coming out of her mouth.

Leah took two steps forward, closing the space between them as she reached out to Stiles. Her hands went to his arms and she looked up at him, giving him a serious look,

"I know you think I forgot, but I swear to God, I didn't."

"Then what happened?" Stiles asked, causing Leah to roll her lips in and look away from him,

"It's...hard to explain." She settled on brow furrowing a bit as she thought back to what happened at the ice rink, "But, it was a side effect of the wolfsbane." Stiles's brow furrowed as he looked at her, "I swear." Leah pressed, almost like she was trying to get Stiles to believe her so she could make it ok to herself.

Stiles took in a breath and stepped away from her, nodding as he went, "Okay, yeah."

"You're pissed." Leah slumped down a little.

"Yeah, kinda." Stiles looked away from her, "I mean, I planned the whole thing for us and then you went and invited Scott and Allison -"

"They're our friends." Leah cut him off. "And you didn't really _plan_ it." Leah made a face, having talked to Kyle over the weekend about how he had helped.

"Maybe I just wanted to spend some alone time with my girlfriend!" Stiles raised his shoulders up, flailing his arms out. Leah took in a breath and closed her mouth.

"You're right." Leah said, surprising Stiles. He was ready for an argument, but it seemed like Leah had gone the opposite route, "So sorry I tried to be a nice person and invited our friends out with us." Leah snapped. Stiles let out a huff, knowing he should've seen her dig coming,

"That's not what I meant." Stiles paused before gesturing to her, "And since when do you care about other people? Like _Lydia?_ "

"Oh my God!" Leah rolled her head back, "You got to spend a whole evening alone with her, why are you complaining?!"

"Because I wanted to spend the night alone with you!"

Leah stopped short, mouth opened slightly; she was ready to deliver a comeback, but Stiles caught her off guard. She licked her lips and nodded as Stiles let his arms drop. Leah crossed her arms over her chest, the two of them standing in silence.

"I just…" Stiles started, "I just wanted one normal night. Without blackouts or werewolves or worrying about who Derek was going to turn next." Stiles paused, "But all I got was Lydia screaming her head off and you forgetting about it... _me_...again."

"I didn't forget about you." Leah seriously, but quietly said, "And I hate that you're making me feel guilty."

"It's because you know I'm right."

"I know."

Stiles took in a breath and stepped closer to Leah, reaching out to her. Leah stepped into his arms, letting him hug her and feeling him take in a deep breath, "So the wolfsbane didn't work," Stiles started, "Something else will."

"I'm sorry I ruined Friday night." Leah quietly responded, "But I swear, I didn't forget." She picked up her head to look up at Stiles, who gave her a small smile. He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and nodded,

"I know."

Leah gave him a small smile and pushed up on her toes to give Stiles a small kiss, but Stiles quickly pulled back. He made a face at her as Leah raised her eyebrows at him, "Excuse me, I thought you didn't want to do PDA in school…" Stiles trailed off as Leah pushed out her lips,

"Mmm, can't recall." She made a face, obviously joking, and Stiles went along with it,

"Finally, something that works in my favor." Stiles joked back before pressing his lips against Leah's. He gave her exaggerated kisses, making Leah laugh and lean away from him, pushing him back.

"Ridiculous." Leah said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Stiles smirked at her as she walked by him, heading for the cafeteria,

"Did I tell you that Lydia thinks we're _cute_?" Stiles asked, catching up with Leah. Leah reached down to tangle her fingers through Stiles's, only he didn't understand what was happening so he tried to move away, but Leah stopped him, grabbing his hand and forcibly holding it. Stiles glanced down and then looked back at Leah, his mouth forming a small _o_.

"Wait, _Lydia_?" Leah asked, an amused smile on her face as she looked up at Stiles, "You talked to Lydia about us?"

"Uh, yeah, had to make sure she knew that I was off the market." Stiles raised his eyebrows at her, causing Leah to roll her eyes,

"Right cause she was _soooo_ interested before." Leah teased with a smirk. Stiles gave her an unamused look as Leah rolled her eyes upward, "Anyway…"

"Anyway."

"Scott told me that Derek still needs one more for his pack." Leah changed the subject, "He's questioning Erica today, but I don't think he's gonna get very far."

"Yeah, I don't know who it could be." Stiles sighed as they walked into the cafeteria. For some reason, Stiles glanced over to Boyd's table, seeing that it was empty. His brow furrowed for a moment before he realized what it could mean, "Oh-" Stiles started, walking away from Leah, heading over to where Scott was sitting. Leah followed behind, but was intercepted by Allison, who grabbed Leah's arm and gave her an urging look. Understanding that Allison needed to talk, Leah walked with her friend out of the cafeteria.

"What's the matter? What happened?" Leah asked as her and Allison began walking down the hallway.

"I don't know." Allison shook her head, stopping her walk down the hall, "Nothing, I mean, something...with everything that's happening...I just feel like...a war is coming." Allison glanced to Leah, speaking softly. Leah took in a deep breath and set her mouth in a straight line.

She knew there was truth to what Allison was saying; she could feel it brewing. From Allison's father starting training sessions with Allison to Connor spending more and more time with Derek and his new pack, and with Derek rushing to build a new pack, hunters infiltrating every part of the town, it was only a matter of time before it all came crashing down.

"What are we gonna do about it?" Leah asked after a moment.

"I don't know." Allison repeated herself, sounding a bit defeated. Leah caught sight of Allison's grandfather walking out of his office, but he didn't see the two girls. Watching him walk into the men's room, Leah voiced a concern,

"Your grandfather doesn't know about Scott, right?"

"No, God, no." Allison swallowed, "But, uhm, I saw Erica talking to him earlier."

"What did she want?"

"I don't know." Allison shook her head, "She's with Derek and he needs a pack -"

"Scott's not going to go with him." Leah cut Allison off, "He's trying to prevent anyone else from turning."

"I know, I know." Allison nodded, "I just...wish he would," She took in a breath, "Not get involved." Leah looked over at Allison, who started to explain, "There's going to be crossfire and I can't risk losing him."

"You can't ask him to sit idly by." Leah pointed out, getting a nod from Allison. There was a pause as Allison took in a breath,

"I just don't know what to do." She settled on, "And I hate that feeling."

"Okay, so why don't _we_ do something about it." Leah offered, "We could...I don't know, do _something_." Allison gave her a grateful smile, "Do you wanna punch something?" Leah asked, raising her shoulders up, "Or bake something or I don't know…"

"I could punch something." Allison grinned at Leah, nodding a bit. Leah laughed at her friend, rolling her eyes as they continued down the hall.

"What about you?" Allison reached out to gently touch Leah's arm, changing the subject, "Is everything okay?"

"Oh, yeah." Leah waved her hand in the air, playing it off, "Connor gave me some home remedy that didn't work, but," Leah rolled her eyes, "You know." Allison didn't know, but she went along with Leah's attitude, knowing Leah didn't want to get into it. "So punching something..." Leah trailed off, getting a small laugh from Allison, "After school? Your house?"

"Sounds good to me." Allison bobbed her head, looking a little more relaxed than she had earlier.

* * *

The rest of the school day passed and Leah barely saw Stiles. He was missing in her afternoon classes and there was no sign of Scott. She sent a text to Stiles, feeling like she was missing something, but she couldn't remember either of them telling her that there was something that needed to be done.

Settling into her music seat, Leah twisted around to look at where Danny was sitting with the brass section. She got his attention by waving her hand at him until he looked over and gave her a confused look. Realizing that she wanted to talk to him, Danny heaved a sigh and stepped down the make shift bleachers and headed over to where Leah sat with the string section.

"What's up?" Danny asked, standing over her

"Was Stiles in your math class last period?"

"No." Danny said, going to turn away from Leah and go back to his seat,

"Wait." Leah stopped him, "Have you seen him?" Danny sighed and looked back at Leah,

"It is not my job to look after your boyfriend." Danny dryly stated, looking bored.

"Woah, okay." Leah put up a hand, "First off, why the attitude? Second off, he-we're not-" Danny gave her a look and Leah sighed, "Yeah, okay, whatever."

"Sorry, Leah, I don't know where he is." Danny shrugged, getting Leah to make an annoyed face,

"Can you at least tell me what's eating you?" Leah asked, motioning to Danny. Danny sighed again,

"My boyfriend and I got into a fight, okay?" Danny raised his eyebrows at her, "Not everything revolves around you, LK."

"Actually it does, DM." Leah pressed a hand to her chest, obviously joking, "But, yeah, that's shitty, I'm sorry."

"No, you're not." Danny scoffed and shook his head, going to walk off. Leah let him, grumbling to herself. She knew Danny was still a little angry with her for not tipping him off about when Connor was going to be at the Jungle, but she didn't have control over that.

Either way, it was clear that Stiles had skipped the rest of the day. And Leah wasn't sure why he had ditched, but he wasn't answering her texts. Before her music class started, Leah sent a quick text to Scott, asking what was going on.

It wasn't like the boys to leave Leah out of a plan, well, not recently. Leah tried to wrack her brain, wanting to figure out if she had forgotten a plan or if the boys really didn't tell her. She was nervous that it was something involving the new betas or whatever new Argents had come to town. Instead of paying attention in class, Leah retraced her steps, trying to remember every conversation she had - jotting down key points in the margins of her sheet music and notebooks.

Luckily, she didn't have to fret over what she was missing for too long; as the final bell rang, Scott texted her back. Apparently after Allison and Leah left the cafeteria, Stiles and Scott figured out that Boyd was going to be the next one Derek was going to turn. The boys had split up, both searching for Boyd. While Leah was a little annoyed that the boys didn't involve her, she was relieved that she hadn't forgotten anything during the day.

"Hey," Leah caught up with Allison as they walked out of their last class, "Can we reschedule punching things?" Allison's brow furrowed as she nodded,

"Is everything okay?"

"I'll let you know." Leah raised her eyebrows at Allison before walking away from her.

Glancing around herself, Leah ducked into the front office, heading for Mrs. Richard's desk. There was no sign of the secretary and Leah looked over her shoulder at the closed doors of the principal's office to make sure Allison's grandfather wasn't around. Leah stepped around the desk and snuck into the back room where the student files were stored. She opened the drawers, flipping through the files until she landed on Boyd's name - "Oh it's his last name." Leah said to herself, making a face as she pulled out the file folder.

She opened it up and quickly took a picture of the address before shoving the folder back into the drawer and shutting the cabinet. Leah turned, heading out of the back room as the principal's office door opened. Freezing, Leah debated what to do, deciding to quickly dart around the desk and out into the hallway. She jogged down the hall, glancing over her shoulder to make sure Allison's grandfather hadn't followed her.

The coast was clear and Leah slowed down, heading for the locker room to grab her board before heading to Boyd's address. She plugged it into her phone, letting the map direct her towards the house. It was a lot further than Leah realized and a part of her thought she was going the wrong way, but then she saw Stiles's Jeep parked on the side of the street, in front of an unfamiliar house.

Stepping off of her board, Leah picked it up and shoved it into her backpack before lightly jogging up to the Jeep. There was no sign of Stiles inside of it and Leah moved around the front of the Jeep, figuring he was inside the house. She stepped up the front porch stairs, and quickly knocked against the door.

Moments later, an older woman answered the door, but kept the screen door in between her and Leah. Leah forced a warm smile on her face as she greeted the woman, "Hi, I'm looking for Stiles."

"Stiles?" The woman asked, brow furrowing. Leah looked over her shoulder at the Jeep and then back to the woman.

"That's his Jeep." Leah thumbed over her shoulder, getting the woman to look over Leah at the Jeep.

"Oh that's been parked here since I got home." The woman shook her head, "Haven't seen anyone around it all day."

"Huh." Leah's brow furrowed, "Is Boyd here?" She tried a new tactic.

"He already left for work, honey." The woman gave her a sad smile, like she was pitying Leah for just missing Boyd. "I can tell him you stopped by."

"Oh, no that's ok." Leah waved her hand in the air, "I can just catch him tomorrow at school." Leah played it off, giving the woman a smile, "Thank you."

"Have a good night." The woman bid Leah goodbye, closing the door on Leah as Leah waved goodbye.

Turning away from Boyd's house, Leah jogged down the front stairs, heading back to Stiles's Jeep. She opened up the driver's side door and climbed inside. His backpack and phone were on the passenger seat, causing Leah to pause for a moment. Obviously something had happened.

Leah figured she could get further in Stiles's Jeep than on her board so she reached up to pull down the sun visor, knowing Stiles had started keeping a spare set of keys in the Jeep after what had happened with Peter in the parking garage.

The ignition clicked a couple of times before shutting off and Leah paused for a moment before turning the key again. The same thing happened and Leah cursed Stiles under her breath for not taking care of his Jeep. Pushing out of the Jeep, Leah went around the front of Jeep, popping open the hood.

Furrowing her brow, Leah tried to see what was the cause of it before she dropped down into a crouch. She laid down on the ground and went under the Jeep, looking up. There was an empty space where the starter was supposed to be. Leah made a face, realizing that was the cause of the problems. Shimmying out from under the Jeep, Leah popped up and closed the hood of the Jeep, as she tried to figure out where Stiles could've gone on foot. She went for her phone as she looked around the empty neighborhood street.

Pulling up a webpage, Leah typed in the name of the mechanic that Connor was friends with. The number came up as well as the address and Leah clicked on the number, letting the call connect. She held the phone to her ear, hearing it ring twice before a voice came over the line,

" _Armor Tire and Service Center, this is Tucker."_

"Hey, Tucker," Leah started, letting her voice go up a bit to sound more polite, "It's Leah Kane, Connor Kane's little sister."

" _Oh hey, what's up?"_

"Listen, my friend's Jeep isn't starting - is there any way you could get a tow truck out here and help me out?" Leah played innocent, biting down on her lower lip as she waited for Tucker to answer.

" _Yeah, yeah, of course_." Leah grinned to herself, " _Where you at?"_

After relaying the address to Tucker and letting him know that Stiles would be with her, Leah hung up the phone. It would take Tucker a few minutes to get to the Jeep so Leah figured she might as well go find Stiles.

As Leah walked down the street, the sun lowered letting the sky get dark. The streetlights came on and Leah pulled out her phone to text Scott about Boyd, wondering if he had found him. There was no response and Leah turned down a side street, wanting to cover as much ground as she could before it got too late. She walked past a dumpster, only to double back at the sound of something moving around inside of it. Leah paused, letting her backpack slip off of her shoulder so she could grab her board, just in case.

Stepping closer, Leah raised her board, ready to attack as Stiles popped out of the dumpster, startling a yelp out of Leah. Stiles flinched at the noise, quickly looking at where Leah was and instinctively putting a hand up to defend himself.

"Oh my god." Leah sighed, slumping down.

"Jesus Christ." Stiles managed out, wincing slightly at his head wound. Leah put her board back into her backpack.

"Why are you in a dumpster?" Leah asked, taking in the whole scene. She tried not to smile as Stiles struggled to get out of the dumpster.

"Stupid bitch hit me over the head and must've dumped me in here." Stiles grumbled as a laugh escaped Leah's mouth. She quickly clapped her hand over her mouth as Stiles's head snapped up to give her an unamused look.

"Sorry." Leah said from behind her hand, obviously not sorry at all. She went to go help Stiles out of the dumpster and he fell into her, almost taking them both down with him. Leah gripped him and tried to steady them as Stiles flailed, trying to keep his balance. They managed not to go down onto the ground, but there was a moment of panic.

"You okay?" Leah asked, pressing her hands against Stiles's chest as he straightened up. He let out a scoff and tried to play it off,

"Yeah." He shrugged back from Leah, fixing his hoodie as he stepped back. Leah raised her eyebrows up at him, silently wondering who Stiles had upset to get himself thrown into the dumpster.

"Erica." Stiles waved his hand in the air, not noticing Leah's confused reaction, "She followed me here, I guess, and then hit me over the head with my starter."

"Oh shit." Leah reacted, making a face, "That's aggressive." She crossed her arms over her chest, "Maybe if you told me what was happening, you wouldn't smell like trash right now." Leah raised her eyebrows at Stiles, clicking her tongue against her cheek as Stiles rolled his eyes.

"We didn't really have time to come find you."

"You had literally all day." Leah waved her arms around, motioning to the dark sky.

"Oh my _God_." Stiles groaned, "I'm sorry, okay? You got left out of _one_ thing that you probably would've forgotten about anyway-" Leah took in a sharp breath, cutting Stiles off and making him realize what he said, "Fuck." He ended, "That's not what I meant-"

"Whatever, Coleslaw." Leah waved her hand in the air, "Your Jeep is being towed to Armor Tire and Service." Leah turned to walk away from him, but Stiles stepped around her, blocking her.

"Hey, I'm sorry." Stiles reached out to her as Leah eyed him, "It's a knee jerk reaction." Leah made a face, tilting her head to the side as she rocked back on her heels.

"Still hurt."

"I said I was sorry." Stiles made his eyes wide and shoved his hands into his pockets, "Which-is an improvement, all things considering."

"Oh I'm considering all the things." Leah squinted at him and stepped around him. Stiles's sneakers made a noise against the asphalt as he turned around.

"Where are you going?" Stiles asked, walking to catch up with Leah.

"To make sure someone's there when Tucker comes to tow your Jeep."

"Tucker?" Stiles asked, pausing as Leah continued to walk, "Wait, do you know the mechanic?" Stiles started walking again, "Do you think you could get me a deal?"

* * *

"Since when do you have a deal with the Argents?" Connor asked as Rachel stripped off her rubber gloves. There was a slight chill in the vet's office and the only light was coming from the overhead lamp hanging above the examination table.

"I don't." Deaton seriously said, "They came to me. And in fact, this is helping us as much as it's helping them." Connor took in a breath and looked to the dead body that was on the table.

He and Rachel had pulled into Deaton's that night, only to see that the Argents were there as well. Waiting until the Argent men left, the pair stayed in Connor's car, Rachel asking who they were while Connor debated if they should or shouldn't go inside. He was curious as to what the Argent men wanted and why they were visiting Deaton. His questions were answered after the men took off in their massive cars. Rachel and Connor had gone inside to see Deaton standing over a body of a man, who had deep claw rips through his chest, and it looked as if Deaton was rather puzzled by what he saw. Maybe not puzzled, but interested.

The man's body was one of Argent's hunters, and it looked like whatever killed him was the same thing that killed Mr. Lahey. Rachel looked over the body to make sure the vet was right, asking questions as to why the vet had anything to do with what was going on and getting a very long drawn out history lesson.

"It's the same thing." Rachel tossed her gloves into the trash can, getting the men's attention. Connor's phone buzzed as Deaton continued to walk around the table, looking at the body as Rachel pointed out certain tell tale signs. Grabbing his phone from the counter, Connor answered Scott's call,

"What's wrong?" Connor asked,

" _Where are you?"_ Scott responded, sounding sort of pained.

"I'm at the vet's clinic." Connor paused, "What happened?"

" _Just... I need your help."_ Scott answered, blowing out a breath " _I'll be there soon."_ And with that, the call disconnected.

Filling in Deaton about whatever killed the hunter took the time that it took for Scott to get to the animal clinic. Connor tried his best to explain what they knew so far, and mentioned Scott was headed their way. He knew that Deaton already knew about Scott since Connor had told Deaton about his employee before Peter was killed, but neither one of them knew what had happened to Scott.

The chime of the bell above the door signaled that Scott had entered the clinic. Connor walked around the table, wanting to meet him as he came in. He heard Scott mumble to himself,

"Why aren't you healing?"

And as he stepped into the light, Connor saw the claw mark across his abdomen. Scott looked up to see Connor and gave him a grim look as Connor looked from the injury to Scott,

"Who-"

"Derek." Scott answered. Connor pursed his lips, feeling his temper flare; time and time again Derek proved he didn't know how to handle his current Alpha status. He wanted to get more information about the injury but before he could ask, Deaton spoke up,

"Because it's from an Alpha." Deaton answered Scott's first question. Both Scott and Connor looked over at Deaton. Scott looked confused while Connor heaved a sigh, knowing Deaton was right. Deaton stepped up, pushing his hands into his pockets. "I think it's time we have that talk." Deaton seriously said, looking to Scott.

Connor moved to let Scott step into the room, going over to get some rubbing alcohol and a bandage to cover Scott's wound. Scott still looked like he was trying to wrap his brain around how his boss was involved, looking from Deaton to the dead mutilated body on the table then over to Rachel, who he had met briefly at the family dinner a week prior. Luckily Scott kept his shirt tugged up, letting Connor step up and dab at the wound with the rubbing alcohol.

"What is that?" Scott asked, flinching slightly at the feeling of the cold liquid.

"Rubbing alcohol." Connor stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "It'll heal, but it's better that it doesn't get infected." Connor motioned with the cotton ball and Scott nodded slightly before looking at Deaton,

"How do you know all this? Actually how do you know anything?" Scott doubled back on his question letting his shirt drop after Connor put a bandage on the wound,

"It's a longer story." Deaton quickly said, "But I can tell you, I know about your kind. Your kind I can help. This." Deaton glanced over to the body, "This is something different."

"Well, do you know what did it?"

"No."

"Do you?" Scott asked, looking to Connor,

"No." Connor shook his head, "But the Argents will. They have a record or book, that has these descriptions." Connor explained, talking with his hands, "Histories, notations, of all of the creatures they've dealt with and killed."

"All of the creatures?" Scott's eyebrows went up, "How many different things are there?" The door chimed again, getting Connor and Deaton to share a look. The Argents were back.

Connor quickly shoved Scott into a storage closet that was in the room before he could say another word. Stepping in after his little sister's best friend, Connor closed the closet door behind him, leaving Rachel out there with Deaton. Scott was smart enough to stay quiet as Connor turned to peer through the frosted glass window, watching as Argent stepped in, Gerard following behind him. Connor swallowed at the sight of the older man and Scott heard Connor's heart rate pick up in fear.

"Hello, Alan." Gerard greeted Deaton, who stepped away from the body he had been tending to, "It's been a while. The last I heard, you had retired." Gerard had an amused grin on his face. Deaton raised his eyebrows at the older man, pushing his hands into his pockets,

"Last I heard you followed a code of conduct." Deaton shot back, voice calm and serious.

"If you hadn't noticed, this body is one of ours." Argent spoke up, not even acknowledging that Rachel was still in the room. She stayed quiet, studying the men as Deaton talked.

"I also noticed the gunpowder residue on his finger tips." Rachel returned her attention to Deaton, "So don't assume I will be swayed by the philosophy just because I'll answer a few questions."

"He was only twenty four." Argent added, glancing to Rachel as if that fact should make them pity the fallen hunter,

"Killers come in all ages." Deaton seriously said. Rachel made sure she kept her face neutral, not wanting to react to Deaton's statement - knowing it was true.

"All ages, sizes, and shapes." Gerard clarified, "It's the last one that concerns us. How about you tell us what you found?" Deaton looked to Rachel, indicating that it was her turn to take over. The Argent men followed Deaton's look, seeing Rachel step forward and uncrossing her arms from her chest,

"This is Rachel." Deaton simply introduced the young woman, "She took part in examining the body of Mr. Lahey, who was killed in the same fashion." Deaton pushed his hands into his pants pockets, looking back at the Argent men, "She knows more about this creature than we do." Gerard gave her a knowing smile, one that Connor caught from his hiding place inside the storage closet. He silently cursed, knowing what that smile meant - Gerard was already planning a way to use Rachel for his own advancement.

What Connor didn't know was that Rachel was already aware of the way Gerard looked at her. She knew it from the moment he stepped into the room and she knew she could play it to her advantage, if she needed to. And she could play both sides, if she needed to. She wasn't nervous; she had plenty of experience being involved in meetings like this. After all, it was part of what she learned from her father, even if he seemed to think nothing was sticking with his rebel of a daughter. But she was much smarter than she led him to believe. From watching him, she knew how to handle powerful men, how to notice their reactions, how to negotiate and the most important thing: how to prove that she was needed and necessary - the only difference was what the meeting was about. The men gathered around the table as Rachel began to explain her findings,

"You see this cut?" She started, moving to the head and turning it over to expose the man's neck, "It looks like this was specific. Like it was on purpose." She looked up to see the men watching intently, "It's not what killed him, but it did have some sort of toxin that paralyzed him." Rachel's brow furrowed as she talked, still trying to figure out what creature could do such a thing, "Obviously, these were what killed him," She moved on, stepping down the opposite side of the table, moving to the chest area, "There's five for each finger-"

"Each _claw_." Gerard cut her off. Rachel glanced up at the older man and nodded a bit,

"It dug in, slashed up with eviscerating the lungs and slicing through the bone of the rib cage with ease." Rachel mimed the action, hovering above the body. There was a beat before Argent spoke up,

"Have you seen anything like this before?" Argent asked, looking to Deaton.

"No." Deaton answered as Rachel stepped back, knowing her time was over. She had been useful to the men and she knew when to stop talking. They would come to her if they needed more information. And Rachel was understandably a little wary; although she was still a stranger to the Argents, it was only a matter of time until they figured out her connection with Connor and then Derek. She could handle herself, she had done it plenty of times before, but there was something different about this time - mostly because of the supernatural aspect of it all.

"I can tell you it's fast, remarkably strong, and has the capacity to render its victims essentially helpless within seconds." Deaton got Rachel's attention as he continued to explain what kind of creature could do such a thing.

"You're saying we should be cautious? We get it." Argent sounded a little annoyed at Deaton's so called warning, but Deaton wasn't finished.

"I am saying you should be afraid. Be very afraid. Because in the natural world, predators with paralytic toxins use them to catch and eat their prey." Deaton paused, "This prey was not eaten. That means whatever killed him only wanted to kill him. In fact, killing may be its only purpose." Deaton let that statement hang in the air as Rachel subtly glanced to the closet, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned back against the counter.

* * *

 _A/N: Any questions, comments, concerns or cries of outrage?_


	10. Amusing to Watch

Hovering her hands over Stiles's, Leah raised an eyebrow at Stiles, challenging him. Stiles raised his eyebrows back at hers. His eyes darted down to her hands for a split second before looking back at her. In a second, Stiles moved his hands, flipping them over to try and slap Leah's hands. But Leah pulled her hands back a split second before Stiles was able to hit her hands.

Leah let out a satisfied laugh, leaning back as she did a little celebratory fist pump motion. At the motion, Stiles let his head drop forward, letting out a sigh of frustration. They had been sitting across from each other at the mechanic's shop for over an hour, waiting for Stiles's Jeep to be finished. There wasn't a lot to do to entertain themselves, but they had tried their best.

"Alright, alright, stop gloating." Stiles picked up his head, making a face at Leah as she gave him a self satisfied smirk. Stiles squinted at her as Leah raised her shoulders up before letting them drop with a sigh. The two fell into a comfortable silence, looking around the mechanic's waiting area. Stiles looked to where Tucker was working under his Jeep, the sound of muffled rock music coming from inside the garage.

"I'm gonna go see what's taking him so long." Stiles uncrossed his legs and pushed to his feet, getting a little annoyed with how long they had been waiting for Tucker to put in a new starter.

"I am going to go get some snacks from the gas station down the street." Leah announced, twisting around so she could stand up next to Stiles. "Want anything specific?" She asked, raising her eyebrows at him.

"Uh, no." Stiles shook his head slightly, "But thanks." Leah nodded at him before reaching down to pick up her backpack. She slung it over her shoulder and walked past him, patting his chest as she went,

"Let me know if anything changes." She said in passing. Stiles raised his eyebrows and turned around to watch her walk out of the mechanic's.

The door shut behind Leah and she started to walk for the gas station. It wasn't too far - being the same one where she saw Derek get jumped by Argent several weeks back. She had been waiting with Stiles for a pretty long time and she was beginning to get a little hungry, both of them having missed dinner. She hoped Stiles could handle Tucker on his own, not wanting him to mouth off and say something to make them have to wait longer.

But it was nice to spend some alone time together. They entertained themselves with things they used to do growing up: thumb wars, Cat's Cradle - Leah had found some string behind the desk in the waiting room, rock paper scissors, and the hand slapping game. There wasn't a lot of talking, mostly just the two of them enjoying each other's company, forgetting about _how_ and _why_ they had gotten there.

Neither one of them had heard from Scott concerning Boyd, but to be completely honest, neither of them cared enough to reach out. Boyd made his own decisions and if he made the wrong one, then it wasn't up to them to try and fix it - at least that's how Leah viewed it. And since Stiles wasn't too eager in calling to check up, she figured that's what Stiles thought too.

Leah paid the gas station cashier for her items, waving her hand at the offered plastic bag and putting her candy, water and chips into her backpack. She had even picked up something for Stiles, knowing that he would eventually start complaining about being hungry.

By the time Leah got back to the mechanic's, she was hoping that Stiles's Jeep would be finished. Not that she was eager to get home, but she did have homework to do and knew that Stiles did as well. As she pulled open the door to the mechanic's, Leah fired off a quick text to her aunt, asking if there was anyway she could come pick the two of them up.

From his position on the floor, Stiles saw Leah's sneakers come into view, pointing straight at him. His face was pressed into the carpet, but he still managed to roll his eyes up to see Leah staring back down at him, phone in one hand, a Twizzler in the other,

"What the fuck?" Leah asked, brows raising up at the sight of her boyfriend on the ground.

"Just felt like laying on the floor, you know?" Stiles started sarcastically before continuing in the same breath, "I'm paralyzed, Barbie."

Leah made a face and looked around herself, "How?" She asked, looking back down at Stiles. Stiles rolled his eyes towards the garage, getting Leah to follow his gaze. He heard her take in a sudden, sharp breath at the crushed mechanic.

"The cops are coming, you need to help me up." Stiles quickly instructed Leah. Leah didn't respond, still focused on the scene in the garage, "Hey-!" Stiles tried to get her attention, but Leah had other things to worry about. Her stomach rolled and Stiles watched her quickly hop over him and out of view, only to hear the sound of her vomiting a few seconds later. Stiles made a face of disgust before feeling himself being lifted off of the floor.

Leah managed to move Stiles over to the chairs, letting him flop down in one. His head lolled back, giving him a view of the popcorn ceiling as Leah reached down to scoop up his phone. Stiles felt feeling return in his legs and soon he was able to move his legs. Leah sat down next to him and used her hand to support his head so he could look at her,

"What paralyzed you?"

"Remember that thing you were telling me about?" Stiles asked, raising his eyebrows, "That was in the Lahey house?"

"Yeah…"

"It was here. It killed the mechanic." Stiles simply explained, Leah made a disgusted face, "And to make sure I watched it happen, it paralyzed me."

"What kind of creature does that?" Leah asked, brow furrowing. The rest of the lizard monster toxin was wearing off and Stiles could feel his torso and arms again.

Suddenly the red and blue lights of squad cars bounced off the windows of the mechanic's. Leah let go of Stiles's head, but luckily he was able to hold his head up on his own again. She helped him to his feet, steadying him as the sheriff and Tara came through the front doors, hands at their holsters. At the sight of the two teens, both of the adults shared an exasperated look as Stiles and Leah tried to look innocent.

Once outside, Stiles went over to the ambulance, sitting on the edge with his dad as Tara took Leah off to the side, standing underneath the neon sign. A slight drizzle began to fall down around the Kane ladies, the raindrops pattering off of Tara's deputy jacket. Leah watched her dad go into the garage with the rest of his crew, already knowing what they would find.

"Leah," Tara's serious tone got Leah's attention. Her mom had obviously asked her a question that Leah hadn't heard; she wasn't paying attention. Leah raised her eyebrows at her mom, waiting for the question to be repeated,

"Where were you?" Tara asked again, raising her eyebrows, arms crossing over her chest.

"Uh," Leah reached up to scratch at her temple, eyes going to look away from her mom as she tried to remember where she went, "I was outside." Leah settled on, looking back at her mom.

"And you didn't see anyone go into the garage?"

"No." Leah shook her head, taking in a breath, "I texted Stella, asking for a ride home, came back inside and saw the mechanic with Stiles."

"Stiles went in before you?"

"Yeah." Leah nodded, "Just like a second before me." She clarified, looking over to where Stiles was rubbing at his palm while talking to his dad.

"Listen, honey, if you saw anyone go in there-"

"I didn't." Leah looked back at her mom, "I swear." She raised her eyebrows at her mom, trying to get her mom to believe her and let it go. Tara studied Leah for a moment before nodding, realizing what Leah must've seen and not wanting to push her any further.

"Okay." Tara placed her hands on her hips, "Your dad and I will be here for the rest of the night. Did Stella text you back?"

Leah dug her hand into her jean jacket, pulling out her phone and seeing that Stella had texted that she was on her way. She showed her mom the text, getting a nod from Tara.

"And if you remember anything else…"

"I'll tell you." Leah promised, knowing the protocol. She gave her mom a small smile as Tara reached out to pull Leah into a hug,

"I'll see you at home." Tara said as she hugged Leah. Leah hugged her mom back for a moment before stepping back. She saw Stiles getting off of the ambulance, shoving his hands into his hoodie pockets. Leah caught his eye and he looked around himself before walking towards her and Tara.

As Stiles came up to the two of them, Tara gave him a head nod in greeting, which Stiles returned along with a "Hi, Deputy Kane." Tara glanced at Leah before looking back at Stiles,

"Get home safe." She bid goodbye to the two teens before heading towards the mechanic's and ducking under the yellow tape.

Leah took in a breath before looking back at Stiles, who gave her a tight smile, rocking back on his heels. He rolled back flat on his feet and let out a sigh, "So the Jeep's impounded for evidence."

"I hope they at least wash it." Leah scrunched up her features and Stiles raised his eyebrows in agreement, "Do you need a ride home?"

"Nah, Scott's coming." Stiles made a face as Leah heard the sound of Stella's Mustang roll up across the street. They looked over at the car, Stella giving them a little wave.

"Oh, okay." Leah looked back at him, "Well, that's my ride, so…"

"Yeah, go," Stiles motioned with his hand, "I'll, uh, talk to you tomorrow."

"Text me when you get home?" Leah asked.

"Yeah." Stiles gave her a head bob, getting a small smile from her in response. Not knowing what else to say, Leah made a clicking noise with her mouth, twisting her hips to the side before twisting them back.

"Alright, bye." Leah settled on, turning away from Stiles and lightly jogging across the street to her aunt's car.

Pulling open the passenger side door, Leah slid into the Mustang. The door slammed shut behind her and Leah looked over to see Stella raising her eyebrows.

"What the hell happened here?" She asked, leaning forward and looking around Leah at the scene. Leah followed her gaze, seeing how it looked from the outside and catching sight of Stiles kicking his foot out and turning away from the Mustang, going back to sit on the ambulance as he waited for Scott. Leah took in a breath and looked back to her aunt, seeing how her eyes shifted from the scene to Leah, before Leah started to try to explain what happened.

* * *

"Explain what happened." Connor seriously said, arms crossing over his chest, "Now." He looked down at Derek, eyebrows raising as Derek leaned forward on the subway bench, balancing his elbows on his thighs. But before he could start explaining why he did what he did to Scott, Connor had already steamrolled right over him,

"You want him in your pack? Don't beat him up!" Connor yelled out, flinging an arm out, "He was trying to do something good-" Connor was referring to how Scott had tried to reason with Boyd before realizing it was too late, "And you send your betas after him?!"

"He beat _them_ up." Derek interjected, glaring at Connor.

Connor took in a breath through his nose, not knowing how else to get through to Derek. Usually he would be right by Derek's side; he knew how important it was for Derek to have a pack, but his methods were starting to become questionable. Deep down, Connor knew Derek just wanted to prove to Scott that he was a good Alpha, but Derek was seriously going about it the wrong way - pushing Scott further away rather than bringing him in and thus, pushing away Leah and Stiles, two people that could be of use.

Turning away from Derek, Connor looked out the window of the subway car, taking in how Derek's betas were lounging around, "My advice?" Connor started, "Worry less about trying to impress Scott and more about keeping your betas alive." Connor turned to look at Derek, "Not just because of the Argents, but because whatever the hell killed Isaac's father and that hunter, killed another person last night." Derek's eyes flicked up to meet Connor's. Rachel had called Connor about a body that had been brought in. Even though the method was different than the previous victims, there was still the same marking on the back of the neck, indicating that the man had been paralyzed before being crushed by the Jeep,

"And until we figure out what it is," Connor continued, "I don't think it's going to stop anytime soon." He seriously finished.

"Are you willing to help?" Derek asked, voice low. Connor sighed and waved his hand around.

"Obviously." Derek got to his feet and stepped over to Connor, "And you're gonna need all the help you can get." Connor raised his eyebrows at Derek, knowing Derek knew who he meant.

"Not her."

"Why? You brought her into this world."

"No, _you_ did." Derek snapped out.

"Well, at least I didn't have sex with her the first time I met her." Connor made his eyes wide, jutting his chin out as he heard Derek huff, "And if it's any consolation prize, I think you threw her off her game. She usually just...bounces onto the next one." Connor waved his hand in the air a bit. Derek gave him an unamused look, "Look, all I'm saying is that Rachel can help." Connor circled back to his point, "She's got an in at the station and the hospital _and_ she's actually willing to help you." Connor let out a scoff, "Which is rare for you these days."

"Thanks." Derek tonelessly said. Connor shrugged at him before turning away and walking out of the subway car. Derek followed suit, getting his betas' attention.

The next few hours were spent with Derek running drills with his betas. Boyd watched intently from his spot on the stairs as Isaac ran through the course, trying to get a swipe in at Derek. At the sound of the door opening, Boyd glanced over his shoulder to see Rachel coming down the stairs. No one else was paying attention to her, still trying to get the upper hand on Derek.

Boyd moved over to let Rachel step past him, getting a smile hello from her. Rachel paused at the foot of the stairs, watching Derek track Isaac's movements, already planning his defense against the beta. She studied the way Derek's eyes flicked around, noticed how his stance changed ever so slightly and then the small smirk that appeared as Isaac got closer. Like he was doing exactly what Derek wanted him to.

Sure enough, when Isaac went to lunge at Derek, Derek easily tossed him back. Isaac hit the ground with a thud, groaning in pain. Erica tried to surprise Derek from behind - leaping off of the subway car in an attack, but Derek stepped to the side. He caught Erica's attack and deflected it, sending her straight to the ground, right next to Isaac.

Derek was obviously disappointed in his betas, letting out a huff as he shook his head at their feeble attacks, "Does anyone want to try not being completely predictable?" He asked aloud, walking away from his betas.

"Sure." Rachel casually said, getting Derek's - and the other betas' attention. Derek raised his eyebrows at her, an amused smirk already appearing on his face. Connor looked up from the book he was flipped through, looking in between his two friends.

"Really?" Derek asked, taking in Rachel's appearance. She wasn't very well dressed to be in such a situation - underneath her jacket was a button up shirt, laying over a pair of tight skinny jeans and high heeled boots to match.

"Come on, it'll be fun." Rachel dropped her jacket over her bag on the ground. She stepped around the betas, who watched her warily. Neither of them really knew who Rachel was, but she always seemed to be around and always seemed to want to help. And they sure as hell didn't mind the break from getting their asses kicked over and over again.

"Uh, I don't think this is a good idea." Connor stepped in, stepping over to stand next to Rachel, who was going to stand in front of Derek. Derek gestured to Connor, going to agree with him, only to hear Connor finish with a, "For you." directed at Derek.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Derek asked, looking at Connor with a confused and semi offended look on his face. His distraction was Rachel's opportunity; her fist quickly collided with Derek's face, knocking the look off.

Derek did a double take, looking back to see Rachel already winding up for another swing. He managed to block her hook, only to have to block her other arm. She step forward, causing Derek to step back to defend himself from her punches. Derek came back to hit her, only Rachel dodged it, moving to the side and reaching up to catch his wrist in her hand so she could pull him towards her. Caught off guard, Derek stumbled forward, only to have Rachel backhand him across the face with her other hand, then slapping him again so his head snapped back.

Pushing him away from her, Derek didn't even have a chance to gather his thoughts before the heel of her boot was in his gut, getting him to stumble back. Rachel advanced, grabbing his arm and twisting it back with a force Derek didn't even know she had. Derek was kept in his doubled over position - the perfect position for Rachel to knee him in the gut before flipping him over onto his back. She pressed her boot onto his chest, looking down at him with a cocky smile.

"How's that for unpredictable?" She asked, not a single hair out of place from her tight bun.

Dazed and confused, Derek shook his head, trying to get his bearings back. He heard Connor tsk from the other side of the room, "Told ya." And then realized Rachel was still holding onto his hand. She helped him to his feet and later, she would tell people that was the moment Derek Hale fell in love with her - even if he didn't show it right then and there. When someone asked, he would brush it off, say he was caught off guard, but it wasn't true.

Shoving away from her, Derek fixed her with a glare, "Who are you? Where'd you learn to fight like that?" Rachel's moves were fast and smooth, almost like she had been fighting all her life. Still, Derek couldn't understand how she had been able to take on him - an Alpha werewolf and _win_. He knew she was only human; he would've known if she was a wolf.

"Men sometimes don't understand the word _no_." Rachel answered Derek's second question, "So sometimes, you have to show them what it means." Derek studied her, sensing that she wasn't lying, but he knew there was something she was hiding from all of them.

"Hey, since Rachel kicked your ass, can we be done?" Isaac piped up, reminding Derek that his betas were still in the room. "I've got about a hundred bones that need a few hours to heal." Derek gave Isaac a sarcastic sympathetic look, stepping over to him and crouching down. Rachel barely even flinched at the sound of Derek snapping Isaac's wrist, but she did look away from him. Connor caught her eye and quickly looked back down at his book, not wanting to get involved.

"You think I am teaching you how to fight!?" Derek yelled out, keeping Isaac held with his broken wrist behind his neck. Rachel could hear Isaac's pained huffs as Derek continued, "Look at me! I am teaching you how to survive!" Derek let Isaac go, stepping away from him.

"If they wanted us dead, why aren't they coming for us now?" Isaac asked, looking at Derek with wide eyes. Derek looked over to see Rachel had a set look on her face - a look he was beginning to know meant she wasn't happy. "What are they waiting for?" Isaac continued, getting Derek to look back at him,

"I don't know. But they're planning something. And _you_ , _especially_ ," Derek gave Isaac a pointed look, "know that's not our only problem. Whatever that thing is that killed Isaac's father, it killed someone else last night. Until I find out what it is, you all need to learn everything that I know. As fast as I can teach you." And with what sounded like a warning, Derek turned away from his betas, stomping into the subway car.

Rachel licked her lips and glanced at the betas, who all looked slightly terrified as they realized what they had gotten themselves into. Not knowing what to say to them, Rachel decided it was time to have a talk with Derek. Turning, Rachel walked away from them and into the subway car, intent on confronting Derek.

"What?" Derek snapped out as Rachel stepped into the car, his pride still wounded from getting his ass kicked by her - by a _human_.

"Stop with the fear mongering tactics." Rachel seriously said, arms crossing over her chest, "Hurting them isn't going to get your point across." Rachel's voice took on the tone that Derek was beginning to relate with her speaking from past experience.

"Yes it is." Derek turned to look at her with raised eyebrows.

" _No_. It's _not."_ Rachel immediately responded, "Do you want them to respect you? Or fear you?" Rachel asked, raising an eyebrow, "You do not and you _will not_ hurt them like that again." She warned, her tone lethal, "Especially Isaac. He's already had to deal with one abusive father, he doesn't need another one." Rachel was final, brushing past Derek and ducking out of the subway car to make sure Isaac's wrist was healing properly. Derek heaved a heavy sigh, knowing Rachel was right, but it didn't mean he'd have to like it.

* * *

Leah didn't like a single thing about her current situation. She picked at her nails, eyes darting up to watch as Gerard settled back into his seat, giving her a welcoming smile that looked a little too forced. She gave him a quick smile back before, pushing herself up so she was sitting up a bit straighter,

"I'm sorry, what is this about again?" Leah asked, brow furrowing a bit.

"Just checking in." Gerard raised his eyebrows, an easy smile still on his face, "I thought I saw you in the office yesterday after the final bell, but you left without saying hello." Leah paused for a moment, letting her shoulders drop slightly, "I just wanted to make sure everything was ok." Gerard's tone suggested that he was trying to be helpful and Leah tried her best to keep an eye roll from escaping.

"Oh, I was just looking to ask Mrs. Richards about something." Leah lied, trying to play it off.

"Anything I can help with?" Leah eyed Gerard for a second as she tried to think of something off the top of her head.

"Baking." Leah raised her eyebrows, getting a surprised look from Gerard, "Yeah, she, uh, promised me her infamous brownie recipe." Leah waved a hand in the air, scoffing a bit, "Silly, I know."

"No, not at all." Gerard shifted in his seat, leaning back and folding his hands over his stomach, "I happen to be known as quite the baker myself." Leah felt her brow furrow as she looked to Gerard,

"Really?" She voiced her surprise and Gerard nodded, leaning forward a bit,

"I'm known for my Blue Tart Creme Fraiche." Gerard boasted a bit, getting Leah's eyebrows to raise at the dessert.

"Poppy seed crust or regular?"

"Poppy seed of course." Gerard scoffed as if Leah had offended him, "Takes two days to prepare, but it's worth every bite."

"I bet." Leah sighed wistfully, relaxing slightly in her chair. With everything going on, she barely had time to do any baking and even the thought of spending two days on a dessert seemed like a treat in itself.

"Well, we're having it for dessert tonight." Gerard paused, "In fact, why don't you come over tonight for dinner and try it for yourself?" Gerard offered, causing Leah to be a little thrown off.

"Oh, no, I can't-" She stuttered, "We have the-the lacrosse game." Leah gestured at Gerard, knowing he knew what she was talking about.

"Afterwards. Celebrate that Beacon Hills victory." Gerard enthusiastically said and Leah felt like she had to say yes. So she nodded, letting her hand drop into her lap as she rolled her lips in, "Good. It's settled." Gerard sat back in his seat with a satisfied smile, "Now, you don't want to be late for class, correct?" Gerard asked, eyebrows raising.

"Uh, no, nope." Leah reached down to pick up her bag, "Okay, uhm, thank you and I will see you tonight." Leah rambled, not knowing what else to say and just wanting to get out of the office.

Once in the hallway, Leah blinked before reacting to what just went down in the principal's office. She made a face at herself before shaking her head and walking down the hallway. She spotted Stiles and Scott sitting on the hallway steps.

Pushing herself through the boys, Leah sat down with a huff, interrupting their conversation and getting both of them to look at her. Scott looked concerned while Stiles gave her a raised eyebrow look. Leah looked in between the two before sitting up straighter,

"What?"

"We were in the middle of something." Stiles flicked his hand in between him and Scott. Leah eyed him for a moment before waving her hand in the air, indicating that he should continue. " _Thank you."_ Stiles huffed before leaning forward to look at Scott, "So what did Connor say?"

"Wait, Connor?" Leah asked, looking at Scott, "What did he say about what?"

"Longer story." Stiles waved at her before looking back at Scott,

"He thinks that Allison's family keeps some kind of records of all the things that have hunted." Scott explained,

"Oh, like a beastiary." Stiles nodded. Scott let out a giggle, obviously amused at the word,

"I think you mean beastiality." Scott raised his eyebrows at Stiles. Leah made a face, tilting her head to the side,

"No, nope, please don't say that word again." Leah shook her head a bit.

"It's an encyclopedia of mythological creatures." Stiles explained, motioning with his hand. Scott gaped and looked around the hallway, looking astonished,

"How am I the only one who doesn't know anything about this!?" Scott flailed around a bit,

"Okay, hey." Leah put her hands out to calm Scott down, "It's ok. Stiles was like this before all this." Leah pointed out, "He played that online game where he battled mythological creatures for like months."

"I still play that game." Stiles seriously said, getting looks from both of his friends. "Anyway, you're our best friend and a creature of the night. It's kinda our thing."

"Your thing." Leah pointed out.

"Okay, says the girl who-"

"Shut it." Leah cut Stiles off with a look. Stiles pulled his chin back and nodded, not wanting to get in trouble. He looked back to Scott and took in a breath,

"If we can find it, I bet it can tell us what it is." Stiles seriously said.

"We need that book." Leah and Scott said at the same time.

"Yeah, no shit." Stiles gave them an unamused look. Leah turned and gave him a look before looking back at Scott,

"And Allison's family has this?" Leah asked, motioning with her hand. Scott nodded and Leah looked in between the two of them, "I'll take Allison, if you stick with Scott?" Leah asked, looking at Stiles.

"Sounds good."

"Good. We'll be outside for our study period." Leah grinned at Stiles before he leaned forward and quickly pecked Leah on the lips. Scott couldn't help but smile at the action, ducking his head down as if to give them their privacy. Leah pulled back and patted Stiles' thigh before getting up. She ruffled Scott's hair as she stepped down off the bottom stair, the bell ringing as she went.

Walking outside, Leah spotted Allison sitting at one of the picnic tables. Allison waved at her with a warm smile, watching as Leah settled down onto the bench, "Hey." She raised her eyebrows at Allison.

"Hey." Allison grinned at her for a moment before the smile became tinged with concerned, "Everything go okay with Gerard?"

"Oh, yeah." Leah made a face, "We talked _baking_." Leah scrunched up her features, "And then," She heaved a sigh, "I somehow got invited to dinner tonight."

"What?" Allison asked with a laugh.

"Hey!" Leah and Allison looked over to see Stiles running towards them, "What the hell? I thought you were gonna-"

"Oh right." Leah bounced back to look at Allison, "Do you know anything about a beastiary?" She heard Stiles huff as he got to the two of them. Allison let out a similar giggle that Scott had earlier.

"I think you mean-"

"Nope, don't say it." Leah made a face, tilting her head away from Allison. Allison covered her smile with her hands as Stiles got to the table.

"Okay um, can you describe this thing?" Allison moved on, looking from Leah to Stiles,

"It's probably like a book-Old, worn…" Stiles started to explain and Allison sat up, looking interested.

"Like, bound in leather?"

"Yeah, possibly." Stiles made a face, rolling back on his heels.

"I've seen it." Allison nodded, eyebrows raising. Stiles and Leah shared a look before Stiles took off running, sprinting back into the school. Leah watched him go before turning back to look at Allison,

"Anyway." Leah took in a breath, "Are you coming to the game tonight?"

"Yep." Allison nodded, "My grandfather wants to see how the team plays, plus then I can see Scott." Allison grinned at Leah, who gave her a pointed look, "...And you." Allison added, raising her eyebrows up. Leah rolled her eyes and gave a forced laugh.

"We probably won't be our best." Leah sighed, "The team we're playing against has this guy - they call him the _Abomination-"_

"You're not very good at this, are you?" Stiles cut Leah off with a huff, slamming his hands down on the table. Leah jumped a bit, startled at Stiles's sudden reappearance and gave Stiles a look. He took in a few deep breaths, looking to Allison,

"Where? Where does he keep it?"

"Uh, his office." Allison looked from Leah to Stiles, "I mean, that's where I saw it last." Stiles pointed at Allison before turning his attention to Leah,

"Answer your texts." He sputtered out before taking off back into the school. Leah rolled her eyes before turning back to Allison. She had an amused smile on her face and Leah shrugged,

"It's amusing to watch." Allison laughed lightly before shifting in her seat, leaning forward.

"The _Abomination?"_ Allison asked, getting back to their conversation and raising her eyebrows. Leah nodded and took in a breath.

"Yeah, he makes dinner with your family look like a breeze."

"Okay!" Allison raised her hand up, laughing a bit, "If you don't want to come, you don't have to."

"Oh, I really don't." Leah slumped forward. Allison scoffed at Leah and rolled her eyes.

Stiles came running back up to them, stumbling over himself. He had trouble catching his breath and Leah reached into her backpack before tossing Stiles an extra one of Scott's inhalers. She had a habit of keeping one in her backpack, just in case Scott ever forgot his. Stiles held it up to his mouth, using it quickly before looking in between the girls.

"You were supposed to answer your texts." He pointed at Leah, who rolled her eyes, "And you know," Stiles turned to Allison, "drug dealers have been using disposable phones for years."

"My parents check all of my e-mails and text messages." Allison explained, "Trust me, they would know." Stiles gave Leah a pointed look,

"Alright, sorry." Leah made her eyes wide, raising her hands up, "Next time I'll answer my texts."

" _Thank you_." Stiles jutted his chin out before looking back at Allison, "Can you get the book?"

"Not without his keys." Allison shrugged. Leah took in a breath as she shared a look with Stiles. The whole plan was becoming more and more complicated than they thought.

* * *

 _A/N: Any questions, comments, concerns or cries of outrage?_


	11. Answers and Questions

The bleachers on the lacrosse field were filled up as Leah dropped her stick and helmet onto the ground. She scanned the bleachers, spotting Allison and her grandfather sitting back down in the middle of the stands, but close to the side where it was easy for Allison to pass off the keys to Stiles.

Once the group had figured out that Gerard kept the keys on him, they devised a plan to steal them during the game. And since Scott and Leah would both be playing, it was up to Stiles to break into the principal's office and steal the book.

Gerard noticed Leah was looking at them and lifted his hand in a wave. The wave then turned into a beckoning motion and Leah had no choice but to go over there. She stood by the side of the bleachers, forcing a smile on her face as she looked up at the Argents.

"Sad to hear that you won't be making it to dinner tonight." Gerard said with a smile on his face.

"Oh," Leah raised her eyebrows, trying to come up with a lie, "Well, my whole family's here tonight and my mom wants to do some sort of family dinner…" Leah trailed off, gesturing to where her family was taking up a good portion of the bleachers, Melissa McCall mingling in with them. Gerard looked over to where the family sat, taking in the members who were in attendance. He noticed Connor Kane sitting next to a blonde woman who was bouncing a bundled up baby on her lap - his gaze lingered on her for a moment before he looked back at Leah,

"Looks like you've got quite the support system." Gerard said with an easy smile. Leah nodded, clasping her hands in front of her,

"Yeah, I'm pretty lucky." Leah nodded. She quickly glanced at Allison before looking back at Gerard, "Well, enjoy the rest game." She said as the whistle blew, signaling the end of half time.

"Good luck!" Allison shouted words of encouragement to her friend as Leah turned to walk away. Leah threw Allison a quick smile of thanks over her shoulder before turning away from the Argents. Gerard looked back over to where the blonde woman was leaning over to talk to Deputy Kane,

"Now that older woman," Gerard got Allison's attention, "With the baby…"

"Oh, Leah's aunt." Allison filled in the blank for Gerard, "She just came to town a few weeks ago." Gerard hummed to himself, nodding a bit as Allison turned back to watch the game start.

He kept his eyes on the woman, waiting until her eyes flicked over and landed on him. Her brow furrowed in slight confusion — she looked at him like she knew him, but just couldn't place her finger on where she knew him from. Gerard lifted his hand up in a slight wave, getting a nod back from the woman before she turned her attention back to the baby. Watching her for a moment more, Gerard felt a knowing smile tug at the corners of his mouth as he looked back to the field.

Leah sat down next to Stiles, pulling on her gloves as she glanced over to him. He was still dressed in his warm up gear since Coach had bumped him back to second line after the pink eye epidemic had been cleared up. Leah, on the other hand, was bumped up to first line full time since one of the players' GPAs dropped below the necessary requirement,

"You ready?" Leah asked Stiles, taking in his nervous leg bounce.

"Yep." Stiles bobbed his head in a nod, fists going into his pockets, "Get the keys, get the book and get out."

"Should be simple enough." Leah made a face,

"Yeah for once." Stiles let out a scoff as Leah rolled her eyes. There was a moment of silence between the two as Stiles looked over to Leah, raising an eyebrow, "Are you ready?"

"Uh, yeah, why?" Leah asked, brow furrowing a bit, "All I have to do is play lacrosse."

"Yeah, but…" Stiles gestured with his body towards the field where the Abomination was taking his position. "There's _that."_

Leah scoffed at the Abomination, shaking her head a bit, "I'm not scared of _that_." Leah got to her feet. Stiles raised his eyebrows up as he looked up at her - something he rarely did.

"Kiss for luck?"

"I don't need luck." Leah smirked at him, adjusting her lacrosse gloves.

"Yeah, but I do."

Leah rolled her eyes at him before pushing his head back with her hand. Stiles let out a groan, falling back a bit to accommodate Leah's shove. Then Leah turned away, jogging out onto the field to meet up with Scott. Stiles watched them walk out to Scott's position, pausing for a moment to talk about something or other before Leah continued across the field to get into her position. Stiles felt a little wave of relief wash over him as he realized he didn't have to actually play lacrosse; for as much as he bragged about being just as good as Leah and Scott, he knew he wasn't. And he really didn't feel like getting knocked to the ground by the Abomination - or anyone for that matter.

The whistle blew, causing the lacrosse players to spring into action. Beacon Hills had the ball and the center deftly passed it to Leah, who caught it in her cradle. She paused for a moment, taking in the defense before glancing around. Spotting an open player, Leah tossed the ball to Harry who went running for the goal, only to have the Abomination stop him. And rather forcefully. Leah cringed as Harry was thrown off his feet, flying back a few paces before hitting the ground with a thump.

"That didn't sound good." Leah mumbled to herself as Scott came jogging up to her.

While the two watched as Harry was taken off the field, the Abomination was getting congratulatory pats from his team. Leah looked to see that there were already quite a few recovering Beacon Hills players on the benches, all with ice packs and looking a bit wrecked. Coach had started filling in from second line and Leah knew that it was only a matter of time before Stiles was called in, which was why he needed to get a move on in getting the keys and getting the book.

"McCall!" Jackson suddenly shouted, forcefully grabbing Scott by his arm. Leah and Scott both looked to him, seeing that his anger was visible through his helmet, "What the hell are you waiting for!? This is the semifinals, ram that roid head into the ground!"

" _Me_?!" Scott responded, eyebrows raising in surprise, " _You're_ the one who said I was a cheater." Scott pointed out.

"And you think that freak of nature on the field is fair?" Jackson shot back, "Do something!"

"I can't!" Scott said through gritted teeth, "Not while Allison's grandfather is here." Scott jerked his head to the bleachers, getting both Jackson and Leah to look over at where Allison was still sitting with her grandfather.

"Well, then you better come up with another plan." Jackson snapped out before turning away and getting into his position.

Leah looked up at Scott, who looked more than nervous. As much as she would love for him to use his werewolf abilities to take the Abomination out, she knew Scott was right. He would be exposing himself to Gerard, which would mean more trouble than the lacrosse game was worth.

"What am I supposed to do?" Scott lowly said as the pair walked back to their positions.

"Just...get me the ball." Scott looked down at Leah, eyebrows raised as he waited for her to explain, "I'm small and fast." Leah reminded him, acting as if that were enough of an explanation. Scott made a face and then nodded, jogging to go get into position.

Taking off once the whistle blew, Leah made herself open enough that Scott could toss her the ball. It landed gently in her cradle and Leah took two steps forward before stopping. The Abomination was right in front of her, twisting his stick in his hands as he gave her a smirk. Smirking right back at him, Leah darted forward, faking left before going right and ducking under his arm before kicking off the ground and sprinting towards the goal. With a flick of her wrist, the ball got past the goalie and into the net. Beacon Hills erupted into cheers and Leah fell back on her foot with a satisfied smile on her face.

Spinning around, Leah bounced on her toes as her teammates came running at her. Kyle got to her first, almost tackling her in the process. He shook her helmet as he gleefully yelled in her face, making Leah laugh. Scott came jogging up to her with a proud smile on his face, reaching to grab Leah's shoulders,

"You scored a goal!" He excitedly yelled out.

"I know!" Leah responded.

"Do it again!" Scott grinned at her.

"Okay!" Leah nodded back. The two of them took off down the field, heading back to their positions. Leah made eye contact with Scott, winking at him as the whistle blew.

Just like the last time, Scott gently handed off the ball to Leah, who took it down the field. She stopped at the Abomination, deciding he would probably know what was coming so instead, she faked right before going left.

Except the Abomination figured that would happen. So his arm went down, blocking Leah and easily shoving her back with such a force that the wind was knocked out of her. She hit the ground hard, feeling the impact radiate through her body. Letting her head loll to the side, Leah squeezed her eyes shut and groaned in pain.

The whistle blew and Leah opened her eyes to see Scott hovering over her, a concerned expression on his face, "Are you okay?" He asked, "Can you stand?" His hand reached out to her and Leah grabbed it. She couldn't do much more, but luckily Scott could.

Scott had to pull Leah to her feet, letting her put all of her body weight onto his side. He kept his hands on her, wanting to make sure she was supported in all areas. There was a moment where Scott felt a flash of pain shoot through him, but it quickly went away when Leah stepped out of his grasp.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Leah waved her hand at him, wincing slightly as she tried to take a step. Scott went to go help her off of the field, carefully setting her down on the bench with the rest of the injured lacrosse players. She gave him a tired, but grateful smile as Scott took her helmet off of her.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Scott seriously asked. His brown eyes were bright with worry as they frantically darted around her face, looking for any signs of injury. He saw how hard she went down and even if she said she was fine, Scott could tell she was lying. It was sort of her thing.

"Yes." Leah made a face and took in a deep breath, controlling the wince that threatened to appear as a reaction, "Just got the wind knocked out of me, I'll be fine in a few minutes." Leah assured him. Scott looked unsure but nodded, not wanting to poke or prod anymore. "Go, go. We need all the players we can get." Leah waved her hand at him as Finstock started yelling for a lacrosse player. Scott nodded again, pushing out of his crouch and jogging back out onto the field.

Looking around herself, Leah spotted her family sitting in the bleachers. Connor gave her a grimace before raising his thumbs up at her, silently asking if she was okay. Leah nodded and returned the thumbs up before looking to her mom and dad. They waved at her and gave her sympathetic smiles. Leah returned them before shifting her gaze to where Allison and her grandfather sat. Allison had on Gerard's coat and gave Leah a subtle nod as Gerard's attention was back to the lacrosse game.

Realizing the pass off had already been made, Leah looked around for Stiles, trying to figure out where he went. It shouldn't have taken him long to go to the school and break into the office. Leah screwed her mouth to the side and got up from the bench, leaving her lacrosse gear on the sidelines as she walked away from the field.

The parking lot was dimly lit and pretty quiet as Leah walked towards the school. She looked around herself, wanting to make sure she didn't miss Stiles on his way out. If anything, she probably was going to have to help with something he messed up. The game was almost over which meant they didn't have a lot of time left to steal the book.

As she walked, Leah found herself glancing over the parked cars - then noticing that Lydia was sitting in one by herself, crying. Leah paused, looking around herself as she licked her lips. She debated just continuing on; it wasn't her problem and she shouldn't care about why Lydia was crying, but Leah found herself walking towards Lydia's car. She silently asked herself why she was going to comfort Lydia, but knew the answer was the annoying feeling of guilt poking at her.

Opening the passenger side door, Leah got Lydia's attention - pretty much startling her. Lydia could only watch as Leah slipped into her car, shutting the door behind her. She gave Lydia a look as she tonelessly asked, "Why are you crying?"

"God, first Stiles and now you." Lydia sniffed, thrown off for a moment as she looked away from Leah. "I'm not crying." Lydia straightened up in her seat, wiping under her eyes.

"I've seen you cry _twice_ in the past few days." Leah pointed out, ignoring Lydia's lie, "It's making me uncomfortable."

"Well I didn't _ask_ you to get in my car!" Lydia's voice became shrill, getting Leah to roll her eyes.

"Whatever, will you just tell me?" Leah asked, wanting to know what was bothering Lydia so badly so that they could move past it and Leah could stop feeling the annoying feeling in her stomach and go back to ignoring Lydia. "Is it Jackson?" Leah asked, raising her eyebrows.

"No." Lydia scoffed out. She looked away from Leah before looking at her, voice going quiet, "You'll think I'm crazy."

"Yeah, probably." Leah shrugged. Lydia gave her an unamused look, rolling her eyes back to look forward. Her gloved hands ran around the steering wheel as she sniffled again. Leah was getting impatient and she let out a sigh to tell Lydia that.

" _I_ think I'm crazy." Lydia quietly said. Leah swallowed hard, looking away from Lydia and leaning forward in the seat to prop her elbows up on her thighs

"Yeah, same." Leah agreed, voice just as quiet. Lydia did a double take, her brow furrowing as she looked at Leah. Leah noticed and she quickly corrected herself, "I mean, me, I think I'm going crazy."

"What do you mean?" Leah took in a breath, glancing over to Lydia.

"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours." Leah raised her eyebrows at Lydia. Lydia paused for a moment before nodding slightly. Taking a breath, Leah decided to give Lydia the short, nonsupernatural version, "I'm forgetting things. People, places, _dates_." Leah sighed, "And I don't know what's causing it."

"I do." Lydia simply said, getting Leah to look at her with a furrowed brow, "You play a contact sport. You've been knocked down too many times to count right?" Leah nodded, "I mean, studies show that head trauma leads to TBI and you've had loads of head trauma during your time on the field."

"No, I-" Leah went to correct Lydia before realizing that it would mean delving into the supernatural aspect of it, so she shut her mouth, "That's a good point. I'll, uh, look into it." Leah corrected herself, getting a self satisfied smile from Lydia as she nodded.

"Your turn." Leah said after a moment, raising an eyebrow at Lydia. Lydia took in a breath, looking away from Leah. The silence between the girls was deafening. It lasted long enough that Leah was sure Lydia wasn't going to tell her what was going on - and why would she? They weren't friends. But Leah was still curious and getting impatient. Before she could voice her feelings, Lydia finally spoke.

"I've been having these...nightmares I guess." Lydia's brow furrowed as she tried to figure out how to exactly explain what had been happening to her, "Or visions...I've been seeing this man - the same man who attacked me on the lacrosse field." Leah sat up a bit straighter at that, matching Lydia's furrowed brow look. Leah knew who Lydia was talking about - Peter.

"What do you mean you've been seeing him?"

"Like at the ice rink," Lydia started, turning to look at Leah, "I was on the ice and there were these purple flower petals that led to the center of the rink. And when I brushed away the ice, his face was underneath, clawing to get out." Leah watched Lydia explain what she had seen, knowing she was talking about Peter, but not understanding why she having hallucinations of him.

"I don't know what's happening to me." Lydia sighed out, sounding like she was about to start crying again.

"Please don't start crying again." Leah groaned, getting Lydia to look at her again. The pang of guilt went through her and Leah tried to think of what her mom or Allison would do in this situation.

So she took Lydia's hand in hers, gripping her fingers a bit. Lydia reacted to the touch - more surprised than anything, "There's a logical explanation for this, you know that." Leah urged, "You figured out what was wrong with me in like five seconds." Leah moved her shoulders and tossed her braid over her shoulder. "You can figure this out." She assured Lydia, "And...I can help. If you want." Leah blurted out without thinking.

"Really?" Lydia sounded skeptical.

"I don't know what I could do, but…" Leah shrugged. Lydia let out a scoff and took her hand out of Leah's grasp. There was a pause before Lydia looked to Leah,

"Thank you." Lydia nodded, giving her a small smile, "I, uhm, I wanted to talk to someone about it." Lydia shook her head, "I mean, Stiles said he was going to be back in five minutes to talk, but that was a while ago."

"Wait, Stiles was here?" Leah asked, pushing up in her seat.

"Not like that." Lydia was quick to assure Leah that it was strictly platonic, "He saw me crying and wanted to know what was wrong." Leah nodded and gave her a small smile, trying to shove down the mix of jealousy and annoyance that came up. He ditched the mission to find out what was wrong with Lydia. But then again, so had Leah.

"Do you know where he went?" Leah asked; Lydia reminded her that she was supposed to be looking for Stiles.

"Into the school, I think."

"Great, thanks." Leah pushed open the passenger side door and went to get out but she paused for a moment - not knowing what else to say to Lydia. So she got out of Lydia's car and shut the door behind her.

It was a weird moment for Leah; she never ever talked to Lydia as much as she did in the past few days. In fact, it was more than weird - especially because of what they talked about. It seemed the girls had much more in common than Leah originally thought. They talked about things Leah hadn't even talked to her family about yet and Lydia had opened up in response. Whether or not that was a good thing remained to be seen. And deep down Leah knew that there was something wrong with Lydia. Peter had made her into his victim, just like he had done to Leah, and she would be damned if she let Peter hurt another - even if he was six feet under and even if it was Lydia.

Instead of heading for the school, Leah walked back towards the lacrosse field. She wrapped her arms around herself and looked around as she stepped onto the field. The game was over and the bleachers were starting to empty out. Leah sighed, dropping her arms to her sides as she walked over to the players' bench. She scooped up her helmet and stick, looking around for her family and for Stiles.

Leah hoped that Stiles had found the book and made his way back to the lacrosse field, but there seemed to be no sign of him. Pulling off her pads from under her lacrosse jersey, Leah exchanged them for her quarter zip, pulling it over her exposed arms and then kicking off her cleats and stuffing her feet into her sneakers. She pulled her phone out of her duffel and check to see that there were no new messages from Stiles regarding the book or whatever else had been going on. Sighing, Leah stuffed her helmet, pads and other things into her duffel and picked it up over her shoulder. As she walked towards the locker room, Leah saw her brother stepping through the crowd to get to her.

"Hey there." Connor gave her a proud smile, "Nice play tonight."

"Yeah thanks." Leah sighed, cracking her neck a bit, "What else happened?"

"Uh, Scott went down - like _hard."_ Leah straightened up at that, immediately concerned.

"What? Is he ok? Where is he?"

"He's fine." Connor reassured her, "Werewolf, remember?" Leah gave him an unamused look, "And then he went to dinner with the Argents…" Leah made a face, doing a double take.

"That's not gonna be fun." Leah mumbled out. Connor raised his eyebrows in agreement. "Any chance you've seen Stiles?"

"Haven't seen him all night." Connor shoved his hands into his pockets, "Mom and Stella are waiting in the parking lot." Connor rocked back on his heels, "Dad left after you got knocked down to get dinner ready. So we're good if you're ready to go."

"Yeah, yeah." Leah nodded before pausing, "Actually, here, can you take this?" Leah handed over her duffle. Connor took it and gave her a concerned look, "I wanna go find Stiles." Leah explained. "I'll just have him drop me off." Connor nodded and gave her a thumbs up,

"Alright. I'll see you at home." Leah raised her eyebrows at him before turning on her heel and walking past him to the locker room.

Leah ignored the last few players that were coming out of the locker room, ducking inside to try and find Stiles. She walked down to his locker to see that there was no sign of him and his things were still in the locker. Letting out a sigh, Leah stepped back from his locker and did a lap around the rest of the room, finding that there was no Stiles around.

Heading back to the school, Leah saw that Lydia's car was gone and figured she must've gone home. Leah picked up her pace, jogging into the school and heading for the principal's office. Once inside, Leah stopped outside of the office and pulled the first door open, stepping into the dark waiting area. There was no sign of Stiles so Leah stepped to the side, seeing that the principal's door was open.

"Stiles?" Leah asked as she peered into the office.

The small room looked deserted, but Leah couldn't help but step inside. She did a little investigating for herself, wanting to make sure Stiles hadn't missed anything. When it became clear that the book wasn't in the office, Leah took in a breath and walked out, leaving the door open as she went to go find Stiles.

Being in the school after dark was one of Leah's least favorite things. Especially after everything that had happened when Peter attacked Scott and Stiles and the rest. So Leah hurried down the hallway, peering into every room and wanting to find Stiles and get out as fast as possible. She pulled her phone out of her quarter zip up and dialed Stiles' number. The call went straight to voicemail and Leah let out a frustrated groan.

After searching for and not finding Stiles, Leah circled back to the office, deciding she better make it look like no one had broken in. A part of her was beginning to panic; she couldn't find Stiles, it looked like he had been interrupted during his search and Leah worried who had interrupted him. Plus, since his call went to voicemail, it was obvious she didn't have any way of contacting him.

Jogging back to the office, Leah pushed open the first door to see that Scott was walking out of the principal's office, "Oh hey." Leah stopped at the sight of Scott, getting him to look up at her.

"Hey."

"What are you doing here?" Leah asked, "Thought you were at a dinner from hell?" Scott raised his eyebrows and scoffed a bit. He didn't feel like getting into the most awkward dinner of his life. It was worse than his first dinner at the Argents' and he seriously hoped he wouldn't have to have another dinner there again.

"Found the book." Scott held up the keys that were in the door, showing Leah the USB drive on the keychain.

"Oh shit. How modern." Leah made a face, "Okay, we gotta find Stiles." Scott nodded and stepped past Leah. Leah shut the office door behind them and then followed Scott into the hallway.

"Have you been looking for him all night?" Scott asked.

"Yeah...sorta…" Leah trailed off, "Whatever, I can't find him, ok? So use your super sniffer and let's go." Scott gave her an unamused look at the nickname before sighing and taking off in a light jog down the hall.

Leah followed as Scott led them both to the pool area. He pushed through the back double doors and Leah went to follow him when her phone buzzed with an incoming text. She paused, looking down at the screen to see that Connor was wondering where she was. Not bothering to text him back, Leah shoved her phone back into her pocket and went into the pool area.

Slowing down, Leah took in the scene - Derek and Stiles were both soaking wet on the deck of the pool and Scott was holding a shattered piece of glass and his face was turning back from his wolf form to human. There was a crunch under Leah's shoe as she stepped on something and when she looked up, there was giant hole in the roof. She raised her eyebrows at the boys, waiting for an explanation.

* * *

Once everyone caught their breath - literally, Leah, Scott and Stiles went outside to see what was on the USB drive. Stiles had gotten his tablet from his backpack that Leah had grabbed while she was in the locker room before he plugged the USB drive in. They swiped through the pages, becoming more and more confused as they got deeper into the text.

"Is that even a language?" Stiles asked aloud.

"How are we supposed to figure out what this thing is?" Scott frustratedly chimed in as he tapped on the tablet screen.

"It's called a kanima." Derek's voice got the teens' attention. The three of them turned to see Derek walking up to Scott's Mom's car, Erica trailing behind. Leah hadn't even realized that Erica was in the pool area.

"You knew the whole time." Leah sighed, not surprised by the turn of events. Derek tilted his head to the side, shaking his head slightly.

"Only when it was confused by its own reflection."

"It doesn't know what it is." Scott realized,

"Or who." Derek added on.

"What else do you know?" Stiles asked, annoyed at Derek. Derek glanced at him for a moment before returning his attention back to Scott,

"Just stories and rumors. A shape-shifter, but it's not right. It's like a…"

"An abomination." Stiles filled in the blank. Leah looked up at him, catching his eye. He let out a sigh and Leah returned her attention back to Derek, only to see him walking away.

"Derek-" Scott stopped him, "We need to work together on this."

"Maybe even tell the Argents." Leah suggested with a casual shrug, getting a glare from Derek.

"You trust them." Derek all about sneered out and before Leah could snap back, Scott was already doing it for her,

"Nobody trusts anyone!" He shouted out, "That's the problem. While we're here, arguing about who's on what side, there's something scarier, faster than any of us, and it's killing people and we don't know anything about it!" Scott finished his small rant with a huff. Derek nodded at the teens, giving them a parting threat,

"I know one thing...when I find it - I'm gonna kill it." Derek gritted out as he turned away from them, stalking away.

Leah heaved a sigh and looked back in between the boys. Derek may have given them an answer, but he also gave them about a million more questions. Scott's jaw clicked with frustration and Stiles looked annoyed. Stepping up to the tablet, Leah copied the file onto Stiles's tablet desktop. She skimmed through the other files, wanting to see if there was anything else that could be useful. A file folder labeled with a date caught her eye and Leah felt her brow furrow; the numbers looked familiar. But before she could open it, Scott spoke up,

"I'm seeing Allison tonight after I pick up my mom." Scott started and Leah quickly ejected the USB drive, "I can give her back the keys then." Leah handed them over to Scott with a small smile.

"File's copied on your tablet." She said to Stiles as he reached around her to close it up.

"Thanks." He gave her a tight smile and Leah crossed her arms over her chest, feeling like he was pissed at her. Before she could start a fight, Scott had already moved on,

"I gotta go pick up my mom from work." Scott said, "I'll see you guys tomorrow." He jogged around the front of the car as he bid goodbye to his friends.

"Bye." Leah mumbled out as Stiles nodded at him. Scott started the car and Stiles and Leah stepped back to let him pull out of the parking lot.

After Scott had left, Leah stepped closer to Stiles, leaning her head on his arm before looking up at him, "You okay?"

"Considering the fact that I just treaded water while holding like a hundred seventy pound paralyzed werewolf for two hours?" Stiles asked back, looking down at her with raised eyebrows,

"Yeah, considering." Leah softly responded, feeling guilty that she wasn't there to help. Stiles took in a breath, knowing he couldn't be mad at her for not knowing what was going on. He lifted the arm she was resting on to wrap around her shoulders,

"Yeah, I'm okay." Stiles sighed. Leah wrapped her arms around his waist in a hug, holding him for a moment before she stepped back. Stiles went to get his keys from his backpack, "Do you want a ride home?" He asked.

"Is there still blood on the Jeep?" Leah responded with raised eyebrows.

"Nah, they washed it." Leah gave him an amused smile, patting his chest as she walked across the parking lot to where Stiles's Jeep was parked.

* * *

Rachel stuffed her ID badge into her bag as she walked out of the elevator doors. She hiked her bag up onto her shoulder, heading for the automatic doors. Her night had been long - longer than most, but she was finally finished her reports. There were a copies for herself in her bag, so that her and Connor could look them over during the next day.

The official report she was planning on giving to the authorities was that it was some sort of serial killer; she had found three bodies that all had the same marking on their bodies: Mr. Lahey, the hunter and the mechanic. While Mr. Lahey and the hunter were torn apart and the mechanic was squashed - the three all had small knicks on the back of their necks. Rachel knew that serial killers liked to leave a mark to claim that the body was their kill and that the police would run with the story until something else came up.

"Hi, Rachel." At the sound of her name, Rachel turned, her grip on her coffee cup tightening slightly. She was one step away from the doors when she was called back, "It's Rachel, right?" Rachel relaxed at the sight of Melissa McCall's warm smile. The nurse was Connor's neighbor and one of the most competent nurses on the Beacon Hills Hospital staff.

"Hi, yes." Rachel nodded, noticing how Melissa relaxed at the confirmation.

"Okay, good, thought I got it wrong for a second." Melissa laughed lightly and Rachel forced a fake warm smile on her face.

"No, no, sorry. I've been downstairs all night." Rachel made conversation, waving her hand in the air, "Not many people to talk to!" She joked, giving a forced laugh as Melissa gave an amused laugh paired with a nod. Rachel tapped her finger against her coffee cup, which got Melissa's attention and Rachel immediately stopped, knowing it was her tell for when she was trying to get out of an uncomfortable situation.

"I just wanted to say hi." Melissa returned to the conversation, the warm smile plastered on her face. Rachel wanted to be suspicious, but she could tell the smile - and the comment, was genuine. "I know how crazy this place can get sometimes so it's always nice to have a familiar face…" Rachel let Melissa chatter as she glanced out to the parking lot. Sitting in front of the entrance was a rather beat up car, but Rachel was more concerned with who was standing behind it.

Scott McCall was facing off with Gerard, the two of them looking like they were just talking. Then Gerard reached up to wrap his arm around Scott's neck, pulling him in close. To anyone else, it would look like a grandfather hugging his grandson after hearing some good news, but Rachel knew it was something else. Something darker. The way Scott's jaw was clenching, his stance and the way Gerard was positioned was very similar to something Rachel had seen during her teenage years. Scott wasn't being hugged - he was being stabbed.

"Oh, I think your son's here." Rachel cut Melissa off, placing a hand on her arm to get the nurse's attention. Melissa turned and followed Rachel's line of vision, seeing Scott.

"I guess that's my cue." Melissa bid goodbye to Rachel, walking out of the automatic doors. Rachel waited a beat before following after, noticing how Gerard was walking away.

Not paying attention to the mother/son conversation, Rachel walked around the front of the car. She kept her head down as she walked by Scott, noticing the blood stains on the pavement. Melissa slammed her passenger side door shut as she got in the car, making it easier for Rachel to do what she wanted to do. As she passed by Scott, Rachel angled herself so that she would bump into him - spilling the rest of her cold coffee down Scott's shirt.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Rachel reacted as Scott flinched. She met his gaze as Scott gave her a confused look. Rachel pointedly looked down to where Scott's shirt was bloody from the knife wound, a hole where the knife went.

"Why did you do that?" Scott whispered, not getting why Derek's friend had spilled her coffee on him.

"To cover up the blood stain. I'm sure you're healed by now, but do you really want your mom to ask questions about the blood on your shirt?" Rachel asked, eyebrows raising. Scott looked down at himself before back up at Rachel, "What did he want?" Rachel hurriedly asked, knowing she didn't have much time, "Gerard. Scott, what did Gerard want?" She tried to be direct with Scott, sensing he wasn't putting it together.

"How-What-how did you know he was-"

"Stabbing you with a knife in a public place?" Rachel raised her eyebrows, "I'm my father's daughter." Scott's brow furrowed, " _What_ did he _want_?" Rachel was a little more forceful.

"He knows." Scott quickly said, "He knows about me." Rachel took in a deep breath, seeing how worried Scott became.

"Okay, don't do anything or tell anyone. I'll call you later and we'll figure this out, okay?" Scott nodded and Rachel gave him a nod back before dropping down and waving at Melissa through the window,

"Sorry! That was my bad!" She gave an apologetic smile before straightening up and walking away from Scott without another word.

* * *

Stiles ended up staying at Leah's for longer than he intended - mostly because there was food waiting for them and he realized how hungry he was. After eating, the two had retreated up to Leah's room so Stiles could tell Leah exactly what happened in the pool.

"...And then you know you came in after the thing - the kanima, ran off." Stiles finished. His head was on Leah's chest as he laid sort of diagonal across her bed. Leah thought that he would be uncomfortable, but he seemed fine.

"Well," Leah raised her eyebrows as she looked up at her ceiling, "I probably wouldn't have been much help considering I don't know how to swim." She tapped her fingers down across Stiles's forehead, getting his brow to furrow.

"Yeah, you for sure would've made all three of us drown." Leah rolled her eyes and lightly smacked Stiles on top of the head.

"Ow." He mumbled before shifting up and twisting his body around so he was propped up next to Leah.

"Either way, I'm glad you're ok." Leah leaned forward to kiss Stiles. Stiles kissed her back, moving his hand to the side of Leah's face so he could pull her a little closer and deepen the kiss.

Then, something clicked inside of Stiles's head. He paused, hand dropping from Leah's face and she noticed, opening her eyes and raising her eyebrows as she pulled back, "You okay?" She quietly asked, still pretty close to Stiles's face.

"Yeah, yeah." Stiles made a face, "Just remembered something I have to do tomorrow." Stiles shrugged and moved closer to kiss Leah again.

He moved so that he was straddling Leah's lap and Leah wrapped her arms around his neck, smiling against his kisses. Stiles trailed his hand down to her hip before quickly pinching the skin and making her flinch back. Letting out a yelp, Leah pulled away from Stiles to see him looking amused.

"God, you're the worst." She grinned at him, taking his face in between his hands. Stiles smirked at her as Leah pulled him closer, kissing him again.

But Stiles still couldn't stop thinking about how Leah reminded him that she couldn't swim; the kanima couldn't either.

* * *

 _A/N: Questions, comments, cries of outrage?_


	12. Suspicions Brewing

The heavy door slid open with a noise as Scott stepped around it. He walked inside the loft as Rachel came down the spiral staircase, already knowing it was Scott. Scott shut the door behind him before he stepped off of the small step. He wasn't sure what to say; he barely interacted with Rachel before, only knowing her as someone associated with Connor and Derek. But he was grateful Rachel was willing to help him with his Gerard situation - feeling like she was the only one he could talk to about what happened since he didn't want to worry the others or endanger them.

Pouring herself a cup of coffee that had been sitting out all day, Rachel took a sip before greeting him, "So tell me what happened last night. Tell me what Gerard said to you." She prompted as she walked over to her table, sitting a top it and ignoring the chairs. Scott walked forward,

"He said that I was going to do him a favor." Scott repeated what Gerard said to him. "He didn't say when or where or what it was, but he threatened-"

"Someone you care about." Rachel finished for him, "Your mom, I'm guessing." She raised her eyebrows, bringing her mug to her lips again as Scott nodded.

"Yeah." He paused, "I mean, I have to do what he says, right?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Rachel sighed, tossing her hair back, "But the good news is that you still have the upper hand."

"How?"

"You have me." Rachel gave him a small smile, "Listen, I know you don't trust me-"

"I do." Scott cut her off, "I trust you." Rachel eyed him for a moment before realizing he was telling the truth,

"Well, you shouldn't have told me that." Rachel sighed. The teenager had a lot to learn about negotiating and dealing with these sort of things; he had already revealed a weak point, "But that's beside the point. The point is is that I've dealt with people like Gerard my whole life. Whatever he wants from you, it's for his personal gain at your personal loss."

"So what do I do?"

"Do what he says." Rachel advised, "Or at least pretend that you are. And when you get any information - tell me and we can make a plan to stop it from happening."

"What if there isn't enough time?"

"Just keep your eyes open, Scott." Rachel seriously said, trying to stop the boy from freaking out on her, "Use your head, notice what's going on around you and use that to figure out what Gerard wants from you. Everybody has a tell." Scott nodded at her, giving her a quick, small smile.

"Thank you." He genuinely said to her, getting Rachel to give him a sympathetic smile.

"No one's gonna get hurt, Scott." Rachel promised him, "Just keep your cards close to your chest. Don't let him know what you know or who you have on your side."

"I won't." Scott agreed, "And you'll do the same, right?" Rachel knew Scott wasn't as dumb as he came across. She nodded once, bringing her legs up so that she could cross them Indian Style,

"I will. This is just between you and me." Rachel promised with a half smile. Scott heard her heart beat steady, indicating that she was telling him the truth.

* * *

"Just tell me the truth," Stiles leaned forward in the booth, "You've noticed it too, haven't you?" He quietly asked Connor with a raised eyebrow. Connor eyed him for a moment, letting Stiles move on to explaining his findings.

The teenager had called Connor earlier in the evening, asking if he could meet with him to talk about the kanima and his theories about it. Connor agreed, figuring whatever Stiles knew couldn't be that far off from what Connor knew himself. Him and Derek had been on the right track and once Derek informed him that the creature didn't recognize itself in it's own reflection, Connor knew what it was. It narrowed down his search results majorly, but also opened up a whole new section he was unfamiliar with. Even Deaton wasn't much help; the creature was based on stories and myths, never to be actually seen by anyone in Beacon Hills or any other Druid for that matter.

"I-I mean, the blackouts, the memory loss, the - the emotional roller coaster she puts everyone on -" Stiles was talking about Leah, pulling out a notebook he had been journaling in, detailing all of Leah's symptoms as they came and went, "Yeah at first, I thought it was just medical like what my mom had." Stiles' eyes went down as he winced briefly at mentioning his mom. He pushed past the childhood trauma that was beginning to brew at the thought of Leah having the same sickness his mom had continuing with his original train of thought, "But then last night, the kanima had us trapped in the pool but it didn't get in because it couldn't _swim_." Stiles stressed, pressing his hands flat on the table as he made eye contact with Connor,

"Yeah? And? Almost four billion people in America can't swim." Connor's brow furrowed as he tried to connect what Stiles was saying.

"One of those people is Leah." Stiles pointed out, "That's not all. The three times the kanima attacked us, she magically appeared right after it got away with no recollection of where she was before or why she was late. The Lahey house, the mechanic's shop and the pool."

"You think Leah's the kanima." Connor realized, sitting back in his seat. Stiles nodded as he spread out his minimal research on the table, "I think you're reaching, Stiles." Connor immediately became defensive of his sister, "You don't know enough about the creature and so you're pinning it on the first person who fits _some_ characteristics of it. That's profiling and I will not stand for it. Especially as a black man." Connor pointed at Stiles, who rolled his head back in an exasperated manner. Connor leaned forward a bit, continuing after a moment, "And for the record, you're pinning it on someone who happens to be my sister and your _girlfriend_."

"Yeah, trust me, I know I look bad." Stiles huffed, eyes darting up at Connor before quickly looking back down. "But it's the only lead I got." Connor studied Stiles for a moment, watching him sort through the minimal amount of research he found on the internet. Stiles wasn't accusing Leah so that he could expose and take her down - in fact, he was trying to find a way to help her. In the past several weeks, the kanima theory that Stiles had come up with - as crazy as it sounded to Connor, seemed to line up to his sister's actions. But Connor still didn't take kindly to the fact that Stiles was convinced that Leah was a supernatural lizard out for blood.

"You said she always showed up after the kanima took off, right?" Connor asked, leaning forward again.

"Yeah that is probably the most damning evidence right there." Stiles pushed his chin out as he flipped through one of his notebooks.

"So she hasn't been paralyzed by this thing then."

"Ah, no, nope." Stiles quickly glanced up, doing a double take as he noticed Connor's expectant look. He relaxed in his seat as he realized what Connor was getting at, "You want to test her."

"A snake can't be poisoned by its own venom." Connor started to explain his theory, "And since the kanima is a lizard creature, it's probably also immune to it's own toxin." Stiles nodded slowly as he turned Connor's theory over in his head.

"So if we test her and she's paralyzed, she's not the kanima." Stiles raised his eyebrows up, "but then there goes the only lead we have."

"But both of us can sleep a little better knowing it's not her." Connor added on. Stiles took in a breath, not quite ready to give in on his theory that Leah was the kanima - since it currently made the most sense, but knowing that Connor would fight to prove that she wasn't.

So he agreed to go along with Connor's plan, feeling his gut knot up at the thought of the multiple outcomes of poisoning Leah. The one he was most anxious about was that she wouldn't be paralyzed by it. It would mean that he had been right all along - something that he would usually gloat about since he always loved proving Leah wrong, but this wasn't a usual situation. All he wanted to do now was make sure she was safe and figure out a way to help her.

* * *

Leah lazily walked into her Economics class, tying her blonde hair into a ponytail at the nape of her neck. She spotted Lydia sitting in the back of the room, tapping at her notebook with her pen. The girls hadn't spoken about what they talked about in the car during the lacrosse game. It had been a day since and Leah was well aware of the silent agreement the two of them had. No one had to know about it and no one would know about it. Leah and Lydia weren't friends. On the outside, Leah would make sure to make it so nothing changed between them. But Leah had already started looking into how Peter could be affecting Lydia from beyond the grave - ghosts weren't out of the question, but so far she had come up with nothing else.

Scott and Stiles came into the classroom only to suddenly stop at the sight of Leah. Noticing their pause, Leah raised her eyebrows up - silently wondering what was wrong. Then Stiles smacked Scott's shoulder and the two of them took their seats across the room from Leah. Stiles glanced over to see Leah giving them a confused look, since there were two empty seats in front of her that she had obviously saved, but he quickly looked away from her - not knowing what to say.

"You can't be serious." Scott whispered out in a hushed tone. Stiles looked over to see Scott leaning over in his seat. He was finally reacting to what Stiles had told him on their walk over to the Economics - that he thought Leah was the kanima.

"I am. Very serious." Stiles ignored Scott's confused look, "Listen, it's her. Okay? Leah's the kanima."

"How-how do you know?" Scott asked back, stuttering a bit as he tried to wrap his head around what Stiles was telling him.

"I just know, alright?" Stiles was urging, trying to make Scott believe and agree with him, "I've seen the thing. Up close." Stiles held Scott's eye, "It makes sense." Scott's concerned gaze flicked over Stiles's head to look at where Leah was lazily twirling her pen in between her fingers. It dropped out of her fingers and clattered onto the floor, getting an annoyed groan from Leah. As Leah bent over to pick up her pen, Scott looked back to Stiles,

"It can't be her." Scott seriously said. Stiles took in a breath, raising his eyebrows in response as Scott looked back at Leah. "It can't be." Scott quietly said, mainly to himself.

* * *

For the past twelve hours, Connor had kept what Stiles had told him to himself; there was no reason for Derek to start thinking his sister was the kanima. Suspicions were already brewing - he already had two potential suspects: Jackson - the one who rejected the bite but still survived, and Lydia - the one who was bitten by Peter but the bite healed without her turning. Even though Connor knew Derek wanted to take the kanima out, he would hesitate if he knew it was Leah. And Connor didn't blame him; he would was doing the same thing. Which was why he needed to make sure that there was no reason to suspect Leah.

The subway station was empty as Connor stepped off the staircase since the pack was out testing another suspect. Derek had tested Jackson the night prior, while Connor was meeting with Stiles, and the poison had affected Jackson. So Derek was moving on to his next suspect: Lydia. The betas had gone back to school to test her while Derek waited for confirmation that she had or hadn't reacted to the poison.

After the fight in the pool, Derek and Connor had gone back to see if there was anything the kanima left behind that could help them figure out who it was. All they found was some broken glass coated with the kanima's toxin. Since only a drop was needed to paralyze the victim, Connor had let the toxin drip into a jar, deciding that they would keep some for whatever they may need it for.

Going over to the table, Connor found a smaller empty vial and grabbed the jar that had the venom from the kanima in it. He began to pour a little bit of the syrupy clear toxin into the vial, letting enough spill in before he stopped the flow.

"Hey." Connor jumped at the sound of Rachel's voice. In his surprise, he had jerked the jar, causing some of the toxin to spill onto his hand.

"Awh, fuck me." Connor mumbled out as he felt his hand go numb. He turned around to give Rachel an unamused look, holding up his hand which was currently dangling down since Connor had lost all ability to move it.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were handling dangerous toxins." Rachel raised her hands and eyebrows up, defending herself. Connor let out an unamused sigh before stumbling over to one of the chairs. He managed to get himself into it before the numbness took over his entire body.

"What are you doing here?" He asked as Rachel stepped over to him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I was just stopping by on my way to work." Rachel explained. Connor watched as she capped the vial of kanima toxin, "Mind if I take some of this?" Rachel asked, spinning around to wave the vial at Connor, "I wanna take a look at it."

"Gonna science it?" Connor asked, trying to raise his eyebrows, but not being able to feel them.

"Hell yeah." Rachel grinned at him before turning back around, "Maybe there's some sort of anti-toxin we can come up with so... _that_ doesn't happen anymore." She turned around to gesture to where Connor was slumped against the chair. He tried to give her an unamused look but he couldn't contract his face muscles to do so. "What else are you up to today? Besides being paralyzed." She threw a grin at him and Connor managed a sigh.

"I gotta get that vial to Stiles later." Connor started to explain, "He thinks that ...someone he knows is the kanima." Connor caught himself, still wanting to protect Leah. He trusted Rachel, but he didn't know what Derek and Rachel's pillow talk was like and he didn't need her telling him anything. "Said he would give me the bestiary pages for it."

"Looks like you're getting the better end of the deal on that one." Rachel said as she capped her vial of kanima poison. Connor let out a small chuckle as Rachel turned back to him, "Do you want me to drop it off?" She asked, raising her eyebrows as she stood over Connor, "The school's on my way and you look sort of...paralyzed." Connor tried to muster another unamused look, but it didn't quite make it.

"Yeah, if you don't mind." Connor swallowed as Rachel nodded at him. "Thanks." Rachel turned away from Connor, grabbing the other vial and slipping them into her purse.

"Call me when you're able to sit up straight." Rachel teasingly said with a grin before she walked away from him. As the subway station door closed, Connor let out a sigh; at least he knew he wasn't the kanima.

* * *

The bell rang, signaling the end of a rather exciting Economics class. Lydia's freakout had gotten everyone's attention, shining a light on her shaky mental stability. She had written _SOMEONE HELP ME_ over and over on the blackboard. Besides Lydia's chalkboard design, Jackson had confronted the boys, citing that Isaac and Erica were planning on testing Lydia with the kanima poison.

"So wait, Derek thinks Lydia's the kanima?" Allison asked as she and Leah walked down the hallway. Leah nodded and let out a sigh. She had told Allison what Scott had managed to tell her before Stiles dragged him away from her. Both boys had been acting weird the whole day and neither of them had really talked to her.

"Because the bite healed and she didn't turn." Leah explained. With the small amount of information Scott had been able to give her, Leah put the rest of the pieces together. Allison made a face and nodded; it made sense. "Obviously Derek's gotta test her first, but Scott doesn't know when or where or how." Leah sighed out, getting a bit anxious about it. Allison noticed and stopped walking, turning to look at Leah.

"Is everything okay?"

"You didn't see what happened in Econ." Leah tilted her head to the side a bit, screwing her mouth to the side, "And the other night-" Leah stopped herself from continuing but Allison caught it.

"What happened the other night?" Allison asked as they walked into their Chemistry lab.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it." Leah gave Allison a tight smile before walking over to an empty table. She wasn't quite ready to tell Allison about her bonding session with Lydia; then it would seem like Lydia and Leah were becoming friends, which they weren't. There was just a common enemy between the two: Peter. Before Lydia and Leah's heart to heart, Leah wouldn't have cared about Lydia at all, but after their conversation and what happened in Economics, Leah felt that knot in her stomach grow bigger.

"I think it's happening right now." Allison whispered to Leah, nudging her. Leah glanced over to see Lydia sitting in between Scott and Stiles, then her gaze shifted to where Isaac and Erica sat a few tables behind. They looked at Lydia like she was their prey, twisted smiles on their faces as Harris called the class to attention.

Leah took in a deep breath, listening to Harris describe their experiment. They were making crystals, but every few minutes Harris would make them switch partners. He paired Stiles up with Leah so Leah gathered her things and slipped off of her stool, hoping the time they had could be used for Stiles to catch her up as to what was happening.

She noticed Stiles's expression of slight terror as she sat down in the seat next to him and her brow furrowed in response. "Okay, what the fuck is going on with you today?" Leah asked as Stiles reached for the beginnings of the experiment. He ignored her, his foot bouncing up and down as Leah squinted at him,

"Coleslaw." She said, using a scary tone. "Why are you ignoring me?"

"I'm not ignoring you." Stiles plainly said, making a face and shrugging, "Just doing our experiment." Leah let out a loud sigh, getting Stiles to glance over at her and then quickly look away from her.

"Stiles." Leah stated. She moved her head, trying to catch Stiles' eye as he actively avoided her, for once actually doing the experiment, "Stiles. Hey." It wasn't working, so Leah tried a new tactic, "Mie-" She barely got the first syllable out before Stiles's hand snapped up to cover her mouth. He gave her an unamused look as Leah raised her eyebrows at him.

"What is your problem today?" She asked after he took his hand off of her mouth, "Are you _that_ worried about Lydia?"

"Not Lydia." Stiles mumbled, "I mean, yeah, but she's not - I don't think she's the kanima." Stiles's eyes darted over to Leah, who's brow furrowed.

"Then who-?"

Harris's bell dinged before Leah could finish her question and Leah let out a sigh. She gathered up her things and glanced over to Stiles, who was back to ignoring her again, "We're gonna talk about this." She seriously told him before she walked over to an empty seat.

"Hey." Leah greeted Lydia, who was dutifully dropping in some of whatever substance they needed. Lydia hmmed in greeting. Letting a sigh, Leah sat down next to Lydia and glanced around the room. She played with one of the instruments they used during their experiment and then looked over to Lydia,

"Listen about what happened in Economics…" Leah started, not knowing how she was going to finish. Lydia wasn't paying attention to her, but Leah noticed her slight reaction to the reminder, "If you want to talk about what you saw, just let me know. No pressure." Leah tried to make it seem like she really didn't care, even if she did want to know what was going on in Lydia's head to make her act like she had.

"Great, thanks _so much_." Lydia was obviously not in the mood. Leah sighed again and started to help Lydia with the experiment, knowing it was no use to try and pry.

Harris rang his bell again, signaling that it was time to move around. Leah picked up her things and moved back to where Scott was sitting at an empty table. He gave her a friendly smile as Leah sat down next to him. She eyed him, raising her eyebrows a bit,

"Are you allowed to talk to me or…?" Scott's smile faltered slightly, dropping into a sad one,

"I'm sorry." Scott apologized as Leah got to work on the experiment, "And I just want you to know that I don't think it's you, okay?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, brow furrowing a bit. She glanced over to Scott to see that his mouth was open slightly. His eyes shifted to where Stiles was sitting with another classmate and Leah followed his gaze, looking back to him. "Scott, what?" She pressed, getting Scott's attention. He looked like he was internally debating with himself before his shoulders slumped and he let out a breath.

"Stiles thinks you're the kanima." Scott mumbled out. Leah paused in her stirring, eyebrows raising and eyes widening.

"He _what?_ " She asked, even though she had heard Scott perfectly. Scott glanced up at her, wincing a bit at her reaction. Leah let out a noise of disbelief as she looked back at where Stiles was sitting with his back to her.

Her stomach rolled as a couple different emotions came over Leah. Betrayal, confusion, but most importantly, nervousness. She felt nervous as to what Stiles had found that would lead him to believe that she was the kanima and her nervousness grew as she thought about what Stiles would do. Her mouth was dry as she tried to think of something to say back to Scott, something to confirm that she wasn't the kanima but she was coming up blank.

Leah flinched at the sound of Harris' bell and she gathered up her things without another word to Scott. She went over to sit next to Danny, pushing her feelings down and away. Danny glanced at Leah as she sat down with a huff. He raised his eyebrows expectantly at her, silently wondering what was wrong. Leah looked over to him before doing a double take - she noticed his look. Rolling her eyes, Leah waved her hand in the air, reaching forward to continue the experiment Danny had started with his previous partner.

"That's too much." Danny stopped Leah, who dumped the final part of the experiment back into the container. "Here, let me do it." Danny took the container and measuring tools from Leah, giving her a concerned look; usually she was always really good with their Chemistry experiments, having everything done before class was even over.

"You still recovering from the Abomination?" Danny asked.

"What?" Leah asked, looking over at Danny. She had been thinking about what Scott had told her, not paying attention to Danny or the experiment. Her gaze was on Lydia where she sat with Isaac, who looked like everything was going according to plan, "Oh, yeah." Leah rubbed her head, "Aren't we all?" Danny laughed lightly as he looked back at the crystals that were forming; their experiment worked. "At least we won, right?" Leah tried to have a normal conversation with Danny, "Did you celebrate after?"

"Oh, ah, no." Danny shook his head, "My boyfriend dumped me, actually." Leah's brow furrowed as she took on a grimace.

"Oh fuck I'm sorry, Danny." Leah didn't really know what else to say.

"S'okay." Danny shrugged. The annoying feeling of guilt crept back on Leah and she didn't like how it was making her feel. She took in a deep breath and looked back at Danny.

"It's Drag Night at the Jungle tonight." Leah mentioned to him, only knowing about the Jungle's special nights because of her brother, "Could be a fun way to get your mind off of it." Danny's mouth quirked up in a small smile at the thought.

"Yeah, I'll think about it." Leah couldn't help but smile and nod at Danny, feeling the guilt disappear into satisfaction.

She managed to look over just in time to see Lydia place the crystal into her mouth. Lydia may not have noticed the gooey substance dripping off of the sugar but Leah did. She held her breath as the crystal touched Lydia's lips, and Leah waited for the reaction, but nothing happened. Leah's eyes darted over to Allison's, who met her nervous expression with a matching one. Then her gaze shifted over to where Erica was watching Lydia with a satisfied smile, the hungry look back in her eyes; Lydia hadn't been paralyzed by the toxin.

The bell rang before Erica or Isaac could do anything, but the rest of the pack knew that Derek's betas weren't going to do anything without his permission. It was just a matter of time before they reported back to Derek. Leah followed her friends out into the hall, hearing them talk about how they needed to plan. But before they came up with a plan to save Lydia, Leah needed to talk to Stiles. She grabbed him, yanking him back and ignoring his surprised look.

"What are you-?" Stiles asked as Leah dragged him into an empty classroom, "Okay as much as I want to make out with you, now it's not the -"

"You think I'm the kanima?" Leah cut him off, letting him go to whirl around and glare at him. Stiles paled, mouth opening slightly as he pushed his chin out. He wracked his brain for some sort of excuse or some sort of way to explain to Leah what he thought.

"Well, uh..." Stiles squinted at Leah, tilting his head to the side as he stomped his foot. Leah's eyes were wide and she motioned to him, making a noise. "Okay, listen, I - "

"I can't believe this." Leah scoffed out, pushing her hands through her hair, "Actually, I can." She let out a sad laugh, "Because you don't want to believe it's Lydia. So you think it's me. That's how it always is isn't it?" Stiles glanced away from her, biting on his bottom lip. Leah took his non response as a response. It was always Lydia than her and Leah was over it. Especially when it came to something as serious as what was happening.

"You suck." She spat out, offended and annoyed at Stiles' actions throughout the day, "Good luck coming up with a plan." She shoved past him, pushing into his shoulder as she walked out of the classroom. Stiles sighed and ran his hand over his head, knowing Leah was right; deep down he didn't want the kanima to be Lydia...but he didn't want it to be Leah either.

* * *

 _A/N: Questions, comments, concerns or cries of outrage?_


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